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Title: The Sultanate of Bornu
Author: Arnold Schultze
Translator: Philip Askell Benton
Release date: December 15, 2025 [eBook #77463]
Language: English
Original publication: London: Humphrey Milford, 1913
Credits: Galo Flordelis
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SULTANATE OF BORNU ***
THE SULTANATE OF
BORNU
TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN
OF DR. A. SCHULTZE
FIRST LIEUTENANT (RETIRED) IMPERIAL GERMAN ARMY
WITH
ADDITIONS AND APPENDICES
BY
P. ASKELL BENTON, B.A., F.R.G.S.
C. C. C. OXON.
AND A THIRD CLASS RESIDENT, BORNU PROVINCE, NORTHERN NIGERIA
Σπάρταν ἔλαχες, Σπάρταν κόσμει
Spartam nanctus es, hanc exorna
HUMPHREY MILFORD
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO MELBOURNE
AND BOMBAY
1913
_BY THE SAME AUTHOR_
KANURI READINGS. Price 6s. net. Postage at home and abroad, 3d. extra.
NOTES ON SOME LANGUAGES OF THE WESTERN SUDAN. Price 7s. 6d. net. Postage
at home and abroad, 3d. extra.
HUMPHREY MILFORD
TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE
This translation of Dr. Schultze’s monograph on Bornu has been
undertaken in the hope that it may be of use and interest to those who,
like the translator, cannot read German ‘with their feet on the fender’.
The translator’s own knowledge of German is, in fact, almost _nil_, and
the translation has been painfully worried out at odd times with the
constant aid of a dictionary. In the work of revision, however, he has
had the assistance of Alexander Siemens, Esq., and of various members of
his family, who have an intimate knowledge of both English and German;
to them the translator wishes to express his most cordial gratitude.[1]
The translation is published by permission of Herr G. W. Baedeker, of
Essen, owner of the German copyright.
It is not generally realized, even in Nigeria, how ancient and powerful
the old Bornu Empire was. In the fifteenth century it was the greatest
power in Central Africa and its boundaries extended to Fezzan, the
Niger, and practically to the Benue. The Hausas, of whom one hears so
much nowadays, were then a congérie of obscure semi-pagan tribes,[2]
while the Fulani are, of course, politically speaking, mere upstarts of
a century ago. Bornu was never conquered by the Fulani—the only state of
any size in Nigeria that was not—and, as regards the Hausas, the Kanuri
have always despised them as an inferior race.[3] According to the
article on the Azhar Mosque, the great Mohammedan University in Cairo,
by K. Vollers, in the _Encyclopaedia of Islam_ now in course of
publication, the Kanuri are given as one of the twenty-six great
‘Arwika’, into which the Azhar students are divided, and which seem to
correspond roughly to the ‘nations’ in the older German Universities:
the Hausas are not even mentioned among the ‘also rans’.
These facts are emphasized because there is a tendency among those who
have no close knowledge of Bornu towards the attitude that outside the
Hausas or Fulani there is no salvation. It is commonly believed—utterly
erroneously—and the statement has even appeared in print, that the Hausa
language is generally understood in Bornu. As a matter of fact not 1 per
cent. of the Kanuri proper either speak or understand it, and it has
made little, if any, progress during the ten years of the British
occupation of their country.
No one who knows the Kanuri of the present day would pretend that he is
a very admirable or a very amiable creature, or that he is the equal of
the Hausa either morally or mentally. He has, however, a history and a
social system of his own, as will be seen in the following pages.
The maps in this translation have been printed from the same plates as
those in the German edition in order to save expense. They, therefore,
do not show the exchange of the small piece of territory on the Shari,
known as the ‘Duck’s Bill’, between France and Germany by the recent
international agreement. A map of the country involved appears in
Macleod, _Chiefs and Cities of Central Africa_, p. 37.
The references in the foot-notes to the English edition of Barth have
been verified for me by Mr. John Arthur. He informs me that the English
and German editions vary considerably, and whole paragraphs are
sometimes omitted.
The notes in square brackets—thus [ ]—and all the Appendices except No.
I have been added by the translator. They naturally refer chiefly to
British Bornu, whereas the original author was more interested in German
Bornu.
For assistance in giving the English names of the Fauna mentioned in
Chapter VI, I have to thank the kindness of various officials of the
South Kensington Museum: Mammalia by Mr. J. G. Dollman; Birds by Mr.
Ogilvie Grant; Reptilia by Mr. Boulenger, F.R.S.; Fish by Mr. Tate
Regan; Insects by Mr. Austin and Mr. F. W. Edwards; Arachnids by Mr. S.
Hurst; Worms by Mr. Bell; Mollusca by Mr. E. A. Smith and Mr. G. C.
Robson.
I have much pleasure in acknowledging the generous kindness which allows
me to print the translation of extracts from the _Documents
scientifiques de la Mission Tilho_ appearing in the Appendices. The
information contained therein was mostly collected by MM. Tilho and
Landeroin.
For information about Denham portraits and relics in Appendix XVII I am
indebted to the present representatives of the family, H. M. Denham,
Esq., and Captains H. A. and L. S. Denham, grandsons of Admiral H. M.
Denham, the explorer’s first cousin.
I have to thank W. P. Hewby, Esq., C.M.G., Resident of Bornu, for
several corrections and suggestions, and my brother, S. Landor Benton,
for assisting me to read the proof sheets.
P. A. BENTON.
ROYAL SOCIETIES CLUB,
63 ST. JAMES ST.,
_October_ 15, 1913.
[Footnote 1: Also to D. S. K. Crosbie, Esq., 93rd Highlanders and 2nd
Batt. Northern Nigeria Regt., for assistance in revising the latter half
of the translation.]
[Footnote 2: Bornu was converted to Islam in the eleventh century, the
Hausa States not till the sixteenth.]
[Footnote 3: Cf. Benton, _Kanuri Readings_, p. 25.]
AUTHOR’S PREFACE
I became partly acquainted with the districts of which the present
volume treats as a member of the Anglo-German Yola-Chad Boundary
Commission in 1903-4.[4] In endeavouring to inform myself with regard to
the region then traversed, I found it a great inconvenience that the
standard works, which contain descriptions of the former Sultanate of
Bornu—works which are comprehensively ponderous—suffer from being very
unhandy, and that, owing to the fact of their being published a
generation ago, cannot include the latest investigations. Moreover, the
literature of the last ten or twenty years on this subject being very
scattered, the study of a highly interesting district is rendered
unusually difficult. No monograph on it has hitherto existed.
I have now attempted in the present book to comprehend in such a
monograph the essentials of the literature already known and of my own
observations, which can correct particular errors in zoology and botany
and will also deal generally with all lines of inquiry.
I have been most kindly assisted in my work by a whole number of
gentlemen, who have helped me with information in the kindred sciences
of zoology and botany, who have enabled me to examine the
comprehensively ponderous literature, who have answered various
questions, or who have simply given me advice and suggestions. They are
Drs. Marquardsen and Moisel, Professor Reichenow, Professor Volkens of
Berlin, Professor Rein of Bonn, Herr G. Seligmann of Coblenz, Professor
Boettger of Frankfurt a/M., Professor Lacroix of Paris, and Professor
Aurivilius of Stockholm. It is my pleasant duty to render them herewith
my heartiest thanks.
BONN,
_March_, 1910.
[Footnote 4: [Since writing this book Herr Schultze was a member of the
African Expedition (1910-11) of Duke Adolf Friedrich zu Mecklenburg, and
contributed a chapter on ‘German Congo and South Kameruns’ to the
account of the expedition published under the title of _From the Congo
to the Niger and the Nile_.]]
CONTENTS
PAGE
I. INTRODUCTION 11
II. HISTORY AND EXPLORATION 13
III. SITUATION AND PHYSICAL CONFORMATION 40
IV. CLIMATE 63
V. FLORA 76
VI. FAUNA 113
VII. POPULATION 168
VIII. COMMERCIAL CONDITIONS AND PROSPECTS 202
IX. LIST OF AUTHORITIES 222
APPENDIX I. LIST OF LEPIDOPTERA 234
„ II. LIST OF THE BORNU KINGS 239
„ III. THE TUBBAS (OR SEFS) AND THE SOS 246
„ IV. SHEHU LAMINO AND HIS SUCCESSORS 250
„ V. ACCOUNT OF RABEH 279
„ VI. BAUCHI ACCOUNT OF SHEHU LAMINO’S KANO CAMPAIGN 301
„ VII. REBELLION OF ABBA MASTA 303
„ VIII. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN BRITISH BORNU 305
„ IX. LAKE CHAD AND THE BAHR EL GHAZAL 308
„ X. SOME KANURI DERIVATIONS (MOSTLY PROPER NAMES) 309
„ XI. FESTIVALS IN BORNU 320
„ XII. THE CALENDAR 322
„ XIII. LIST OF BORNU TRIBES 325
„ XIV. ETHNOLOGICAL NOTES ON BORNU PROPER 326
„ XIV A. DERIVATION OF SHUWA AND KANURI ACCORDING
TO M. CARBOU 333
„ XV. SELECTIONS FROM UNPUBLISHED CORRESPONDENCE
REGARDING OUDNEY, DENHAM, AND CLAPPERTON’S
MISSION TO BORNU IN 1821-4 336
„ XVI. BREEDS AND VARIETIES OF CATTLE, SHEEP,
AND GOATS 376
„ XVII. NOTE ON PORTRAITS OF TRAVELLERS AND AUTHORS
WHO HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT BORNU 378
„ XVIII. FADEL ALLAH AND THE FRENCH 382
„ XIX. HEAD-QUARTERS OF BRITISH BORNU 383
„ XX. CLAPPERTON’S PROMOTION TO LIEUTENANT 385
„ XXI. A BORNU PRINCE AT TRIPOLI 387
INDEX 389
MAPS
1. BORNU AND THE ADJACENT DISTRICTS
2. SKETCH-MAP OF THE WESTERN SUDAN
I
INTRODUCTION
On more than one ground the country which embraces the districts of the
once mighty Central African Sultanate of Bornu, deserves our quite
particular interest. Enclosed in the centre of the Sudan and lying on
the shores of an inland sea, this highly fruitful and thickly populated
district was the first of all the great African water-basins to be known
in Europe. For centuries, over the central plateau, two important
articles of trade, ivory and human flesh, were up to the middle of the
nineteenth century almost the exclusive aim of all expeditions which
concerned themselves with the exploration of the dark continent. It was
German travellers above all, and amongst them the most scientifically
important and authoritative of all African explorers, Heinrich Barth,[5]
who brought news to Europe of these remarkable countries, first reported
the unheard-of atrocities of the slave-trade in the heart of Africa, and
thus gave a fresh impetus to the anti-slavery movement. Scarcely were
the main avenues of exploration closed at the end of the nineteenth
century than events happened such as these parts of Africa had never
seen hitherto—events which the Great Powers of Europe made necessary by
their policy of annexation, and the land of Bornu was pushed once more
into the foreground of public interest. The end of these events was the
present political understanding, which brought large potential empires
under the protection of the three chief European Powers. Thus Germany at
the present day again claims a share in those lands in which the self-
denying and indefatigable activity of her great sons, the explorers
Barth, Overweg, Vogel, von Beurmann, Rohlfs, and Nachtigal, had been so
valiantly displayed of old, and in the great scientific and economic
problems that have still to be solved in the Sudan.
[Footnote 5: [Preceded by the Englishmen Denham and Clapperton, and
himself in the pay of the British Government.]]
II
HISTORY AND EXPLORATION
As in almost all the kingdoms of the Sudan, so also in Bornu, history
has exercised the widest influence on the present extent of the country,
on the composition of its population, and on their character. The
history of Bornu—accounts of which, beginning from the middle of the
sixteenth century, remain in native manuscript chronicles—has been made
known to us without any very great gaps by the German travellers
Heinrich Barth and Gustav Nachtigal, who made use of already existing
Arabic sources and as regards modern times wrote from personal
observation.[6] Without their information we should remain to-day in
still greater ignorance than as it happens we fortunately are of the
recent condition of this Central African empire, owing to the constant
shifting of population. This movement had not yet altogether ceased even
in very recent times.
The first mention of the name of Bornu is in the Arabic writer Ibn
Said,[7] where it appears as an integral part of the empire of Kanem.
Later, as the centre of gravity of its rulers was removed to Bornu, the
empire also took the name of this country. So when we speak to-day of a
history of Bornu, the history of Kanem is to be understood as regards
its earlier phases.
The first dynasty (according to Barth 67, according to Nachtigal 64
kings) which ruled the destinies of Kanem, i.e. Bornu, for nearly 1,200
years, traced their origin back to one Sef of Mecca,[8] son of the last
Himyaritic king. The period of time during which the first kings of
Bornu held sway, beginning almost with the Hegira, differs considerably
according to the various chronicles;[9] nevertheless, oral tradition
concerning this first dynasty, stretching back for nearly 1,000 years,
enables us to distinguish certain fixed epochs, the way in which the
Sefs pushed forward their dominion to the southern edge of the middle
Sahara, and the period at which the present province of Kanem was
included. It seems fairly probable—and several circumstances support
this view—that the immigrants halted a long time in Tubu country before
pushing farther south-westwards,[10] whereby this tribe became a part
and even an essential part of the Kanem nation.
A singular expansion of the empire first appears with the acceptance of
Islam under King Hume[11] at the end of the eleventh century. By this
step a further advance was secured over the other Central African
kingdoms; for it brought with it a proportionately high degree of
civilization and culture. Within a hundred years, under King Dunama
Dibbalami[12] (in the thirteenth century), the empire was extended over
enormous tracts of country and reached as far as Fezzan in the north,
the Nile on the east, and the present district of Dikoa[13] on the
south. Owing to this, however, the problems of administration also
increased,[14] and finally could only be solved by the help of the
‘Nokena’, a sort of Privy Council, but this again imperilled the unity
of government. Under this king also discord broke out between the two
chief nations of the empire, the kindred races of the Tubu (or Teda) and
the Kanuri, which finally for a time led to an embittered struggle,
which likewise did not contribute to the solidity of the empire. It is
also during the reign of this Dunama Dibbalami that the name Bornu is
mentioned for the first time as that of the most southernly province of
the empire, by the chronicler who is called Ibn Said.
But the chief possessions of the Sef dynasty still lay to the north of
Chad, including the most important, viz. Kanem on the north shore of the
great lake. In the next two centuries, whilst the unfortunate civil wars
brought an evident shrinkage of power and pointed to an undeniable
decay, the dynasty of the Sefs were gradually expelled from Kanem by the
kindred stock of the Bulala, from Lake Fittri, their bitterest
opponents, and compelled to remove their head-quarters to the southernly
and westernly shores of Lake Chad to the country which gave the empire
its final designation. Although Kanem was later temporarily reconquered,
still Bornu Proper remains henceforward the centre of gravity of the
empire. The tribes which had hitherto possessed the newly conquered
districts were absorbed in the conquering nation, being naturally
influenced by it both in essence and in externals; or they were
completely annihilated, like the Sos, who still live in tradition and
who, finally drained of their life-blood by their long and obstinate
resistance, have left behind in Affade the remains of a civilization
peculiar to themselves.[15]
King Ali Ghadjideni ben Dunama,[16] who reigned towards the end of the
fifteenth century, was the first to put an end to the causes of the
long-standing civil war, which had nearly led to the downfall of the
empire, by restricting within proper bounds the power of the twelve
‘Kokenawa’,[17] the members of the ‘Nokena’, who in the course of time
had become almost independent princes. He founded on the lower courses
of the River Yo the town of Ghasr Eggomo (Birni),[18] which remained the
capital of Bornu for the next 300 years and saw the empire reach its
zenith. It is very probable also that it was in Ali Dunama’s reign that
the famous Leo Africanus visited Bornu, and undertook a description of
the land and people after only a month’s stay; his description was
evidently coloured by unpleasant personal experiences, and is considered
on that account almost worthless; at most the commercial instincts of
the Bornu people there depicted may remind us of the reports of later
travellers.[19]
The most important of a line of able princes, whom the country was
permitted to enjoy during the succeeding period, was without doubt
Edriss Aloma (whose date, according to Barth, was 1571-1603),[20] who,
according to his conscientious native chronicler Iman Ahmed, left a
reputation behind him for unusual energy and circumspection together
with great philanthropy and clemency. With an army, the flower of whom
already carried fire-arms, he undertook successive campaigns for the
strengthening of his power, campaigns which extended from Aïr in the
north to Kano in the west and the country of the pagan Margis in the
south. With the rulers of Kanem, which had been already reconquered by
his predecessor, and which remained a province of Bornu till the end of
the eighteenth century, Edriss Aloma had already at the beginning of his
reign concluded a treaty of friendship. This treaty was even embodied in
duplicate written dispatches, which argues a highly developed system of
government. It speaks much for this in general, that the country, some
of whose kings performed the pilgrimage to Mecca, was and continued to
be in close touch with the politics and culture of Tripoli and Egypt,
which at that time had reached its economic zenith. Denham was the first
to establish that for the building of the walls of Ghasr Eggomo, the
ruins of which he visited, recourse was had to burnt bricks, a material
which is now no longer made use of, and he rightly deduced from this a
high degree of civilization; on Barth also the remains of the former
capital made a similar impression.[21]
The superior ability which the new rulers of the country possessed over
the former inhabitants could not remain unnoticed even by such
inhabitants themselves. A rich country, bounded on two sides, the north
and east, by stretches of sterility or absolute desert, without being
protected by any considerable natural impediments, such as standing
water, devious river-courses, or inaccessible mountain features, was
necessarily exposed to the constant danger of invasion by foreign tribes
from outside its jurisdiction. This danger was bound to increase as soon
as the cessation of continuous struggles against the hostile nature of
the desert, which kept the qualities of mind and body constantly on the
stretch, came into effect, and as soon as increasing prosperity and
intermixture with peoples of a lower morale produced an evident
weakening and modification of the Bornu nation.
Besides the ever-restless Tuareg, who rendered the border districts
unsafe until very recent times, the first advance parties of the Fulani,
an Hamitic conquering tribe, also showed themselves in the west of the
empire towards the end of the sixteenth century. These Fulani, inspired
by the ideas of a strict Mohammedanism, were advancing eastwards from
Senegal without a halt, and finally established the powerful empire of
Sokoto.[22] When, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Fulani
on their victorious march arrived at the lower course of the River Yo,
they met with but a feeble resistance.[23] The Bornu army was beaten
within sight of the palace, and the incapable Sultan Ahmed and his chief
men were obliged to fly from the capital, which was to a very great
extent destroyed by the victors. This happened in the year 1809.
Yet again was there to arise for the empire at this second period of
eclipse a saviour, who preserved it from complete annihilation. But this
time he did not come from the royal family itself. A man who stood quite
apart from them, Faki Mohammed el Amin el Kanemi from Fezzan, who,
however, was connected with Bornu by family ties,[24] dared to withstand
the invaders together with a handful of devoted adherents, and, as he
was successful at the very beginning, he was soon joined by so many
patriotically-minded followers—to the number of 200 horse and 2,000
foot—that he was able to bring matters to a decisive issue. By the
victorious battle of Ngornu at least the eastern part of Bornu was
cleared of the invaders, but they were able, however, to retain Katagum
on the west of the empire as a stronghold.
With the help of Mohammed el Amin, Ahmed was then enabled to regain the
old capital, though only temporarily. But neither he nor his son, who
had entirely lost the confidence of their subjects, possessed such
qualities as to restore the prestige of the empire. Willy nilly, in
spite of their own secret reluctance and the jealousy of the office-
holders, the royal family were compelled to seek the help of Mohammed el
Amin, who was the favourite of the nation and in whom it reposed the
greatest confidence as its deliverer from a foreign yoke. The influence
of this man reached such a pitch that he finally became the real ruler,
and was able in 1814 to found a capital of his own, which he called Kuka
or Kukawa, after a Kuka-tree[25] which stood on the site of his own
house. On this account Barth is quite correct in pointing out that the
year 1814 marks the birth of a new dynasty. In spite of being the real
ruler and having authority with the people as such, el Amin, with
prudent moderation, still only described himself as ‘Sheik’, while
leaving all superfluous externals and all pomp to the royal family, now
fast becoming ridiculous owing to dwindling power and constantly
changing their place of residence in an aimless and helpless fashion.
For this reason he sought continually to strengthen his authority with
the people by bringing back to their former allegiance the tributary
states of Bornu, who had revolted during the period of decay. It was
just at this period (1822-4) that the English expedition under Oudney,
Clapperton, and Denham[26] appeared and was favourably received by the
Sheik; it is to their inquiries that we owe the first reliable
information about the country. Thus Denham was a witness of the battle
of Ngala between the troops of el Amin[27] and the Bagirmis, which
resulted in a victory for Bornu. In spite of the multitudinous following
of armed men, which the wide extent of the empire made possible, el Amin
had done nothing to put an end to the shadowy royalty of the Sefua. This
was reserved for Sheik Omar, who succeeded his father after the latter’s
death in 1835. Whilst this same Omar and his troops were busy in the
west of the empire bringing the unruly Governor of Zinder to account,
the Sefua, assisted by the ruler of Wadai, made use of this favourable
opportunity to attempt to regain possession, by force of arms, of their
earlier authority. This attempt, however, failed, and the course of the
struggle was unfavourable to the old dynasty. The puppet King Ibrahim
was put on his trial as a traitor to the country by Omar and executed in
1846. His son Ali, the last of the Sefua, died on the field of battle.
Omar thus became undisputed ruler of Bornu. Although, according to
general opinion in Bornu, he did not inherit his father’s indispensable
energy, still he possessed many excellent private qualities which were
of special advantage to the German travellers, who, during his reign and
with his assistance and furtherance, were able to continue in so
admirable a manner the exploration of the Central Sudan commenced by
Denham.
In the year 1851 there arrived in Bornu, via Tripoli, the expedition
under Richardson sent out by the English Government; to it were attached
the German explorers, Dr. Heinrich Barth and Dr. Adolf Overweg. After
the premature death of the leader, who succumbed to fever[28] before
reaching the capital of Bornu, Dr. Barth undertook its leadership. From
Kukawa, which remained the proper base of operations throughout the
whole duration of their stay in the Sudan, the two Germans, but
especially Barth—Overweg died in the summer of 1852 at Maduari, on the
shores of Lake Chad,[29] which he was the first European to
navigate[30]—made longer or shorter journeys in all directions, which
extended as far as the Benue in the heart of Adamawa, and which led to
the solution of important geographical questions relative to that river.
Owing to a lack of sufficient resources of their own, the travellers,
like their predecessor Denham, were practically compelled to join in the
‘razzias’, or forays, whose chief object was the capture of slaves,
unless they were willing to let slip the opportunity of being able to
learn about lands hitherto untrodden. As they were compelled to be
passive spectators of these slave-raids, taking no part in them yet
subsequently describing them, they found themselves in the position of
turning the attention of European civilization to the existing traffic
in human flesh and to the barbarities it gave rise to, barbarities which
were enacted before their eyes and of the culpability of which their
black companions had no perception.[31] The German astronomer also, Dr.
Edward Vogel, who was sent out later by the English Government to join
the expedition on Petermann’s recommendation, in order to complete their
investigations by fixing the position of places astronomically, and who
arrived in Kukawa at the beginning of the year 1854, was obliged to make
a part of his expedition southwards in the wake of slave-raids. Barth
was the only scholar who returned home in safety (1855) from this great
Central African expedition, and he was able to leave behind him in a
five-volume work the results of his prolonged investigations; his
detailed descriptions cannot be superseded in essentials even to-day, so
limited is the economic and political revolution occasioned by the
events of the end of the nineteenth century. Vogel was less fortunate,
being destined to forfeit his life in his attempt to penetrate into
Wadai.[32] He was murdered in 1856[33] by order of the sultan of that
country. For the result of his investigations, which are of special
value with regard to the explanation of the flora, we have only the
reports published in Petermann’s _Mitteilungen_ and several of his
letters,[34] but these preserve some important conclusions. The
uncertainty of the fate of Edward Vogel induced the German traveller,
Maurice von Beurmann, to enter on a further investigation from Bornu
with regard to what was still unknown. But the same fate befell him as
his unfortunate predecessor. In the year 1863 he was strangled at
Mao,[35] at that time the capital of Kanem, at the instigation of an
officer of the Sultan of Wadai, before ever he reached that country. A
few years later, in 1866, Gerhard Rohlfs arrived in Bornu on his journey
across the dark continent from Tripoli to Lagos; he only stayed a short
time however. The last of the German travellers who visited Bornu during
the reign of Omar, and enjoyed his hospitality, was Dr. Gustav
Nachtigal. Nachtigal was selected to take to Kukawa the presents which
King William of Prussia had decided to send to Omar as a recognition of
his great services to German travellers. Starting from Tripoli in the
year 1869, Nachtigal reached Kukawa in July, 1870, by a little-known
route, passing through districts hitherto untrodden by a white man.[36]
After having acquitted himself of his mission he set forth on his
travels, choosing, like his predecessor, the capital of Bornu as a
starting-point for detailed journeys of inquiry. Thanks to his superior
powers of observation and his many-sided interests, which, moreover, lay
partly in different directions from those of his predecessor, he was
able to supplement most successfully the fundamental results of Barth’s
journeys. In order to enlarge his knowledge of the country he had, as
his predecessor had pointed out, to join as a spectator in the slave-
hunts in the almost inexhaustible slave-reservoir of the districts of
the middle Shari and Logone, but he expresses himself in the strongest
terms, as did Barth, on the unheard-of atrocities which were committed
on these occasions.[37] Finally, during Omar’s reign occurred the visit
of the Italians, Matteucci and Massari, who paid a hasty visit to Bornu
in 1880, but who were prevented by their untimely end from leaving
behind a written account of their discoveries.[38]
There can be no doubt that, out of all the kings, sultans, or sheiks who
had hitherto reigned over Bornu, Omar has been delineated for posterity
with the most justice and impartiality, thanks to the German travellers
who at such various times enjoyed his hospitality.[39] All these are in
accordance in declaring that Omar possessed a goodness and philanthropy
very unusual for a potentate of the Sudan—for he can scarcely be held
responsible for the deeply-rooted cruelty of his troops. These qualities
were often displayed towards the German travellers in a fatherly
providence, a fact which is very eloquent in view of the selfishness
natural to the native. But since this goodness was not coupled with the
energy which is quite indispensable in the conduct of African affairs,
they foreboded danger to the country. Though Omar stood high in his
people’s regard, this was not increased by the artful intrigues of his
nearest associates. His own brother, Abdur Rahman, ventured to openly
rebel against him and sought to depose him. Omar was compelled in the
end, certainly with reluctance, to resolve to allow his brother to be
executed.[40] It was fortunate for Omar that for a long time he had a
counsellor, whom he inherited from Lamino, the first wearer of the
dignity of Sheik, and whom Nachtigal describes as ‘the only _man_
amongst his hangers-on’, a race of men whose days were filled with petty
gossip.[41]
The results of Omar’s policy of inaction were bound to show themselves
fatally in the border districts and in the provinces only loosely
attached to Bornu. In spite of a standing army of 7,000 men permanently
mobilized—the old military spirit had long vanished from the rest of the
nation—the Tuaregs ventured on the most impudent raids in north-western
Bornu; the districts north of the River Yo, which Barth had described as
a kind of ‘political quarantine-station’, were thoroughly unsafe.[42]
Moreover, the vassal states of Bornu, such as Zinder, proved themselves
little to be depended on during the renewed advance of the Fulani,[43]
and the speedy rise of the neighbouring kingdom of Wadai meant an ever-
increasing danger to Bornu. After the death of Omar in 1881 he was
succeeded at short intervals by his sons Abubakr, Ibrahim, and Ashimi,
who, however, were not in a position to avert the impending ruin. When,
in 1892, the French traveller Monteil visited Bornu, whose sultan at
that time was Ashimi, Zinder had long belonged to Bornu only in name,
while constant robberies and intrigues on the part of Wadai were the
order of the day and remained unpunished.[44]
Such were the relations of Bornu at the end of the eighties of the last
century, while far to the east, in the region of the middle Nile, events
were preparing which fundamentally revolutionized in the years that
followed the whole state of affairs in North Central Africa, and finally
delivered the death-blow of the Bornu empire in its old form. When
Suliman, son of the notorious slave-raider Zobeir Pasha, after a long
and bitter struggle with Gessi Pasha,[45] surrendered to the latter in
1879, Rabeh, one of his most powerful followers, who had urgently
dissuaded him from surrender, declared himself independent of him.[46] A
great part of Suliman’s following joined Rabeh,[47] and under their new
leader soon left the Egyptian Sudan and turned their steps westwards,
with Gessi Pasha at first still in pursuit. The flower of Rabeh’s troops
consisted of ‘dervishes’, that incomparable material for African
soldiery, who gave proofs at the famous battles of Khartoum and Omdurman
of such unparalleled courage and contempt of death. With this force,
which received constant increases from the army of Slatin Pasha himself,
Rabeh conquered by degrees the whole Eastern Sudan; Wadai alone, though
it indeed also suffered defeat, was able to maintain independence by
means of a compromise concluded with Rabeh. His raids extended
southwards as far as Bangasso in the Congo State. Although Rabeh
declined all connexion with the Mahdi[48], then at the height of his
power, he knew how to make skilful use for his own purposes of the wave
of fanaticism let loose by the Dervishes, and probably also of the ideas
of the religious sect of the Senussi.[49]
In 1892 began Rabeh’s campaign against Bagirmi, which asked for help
from Wadai and even from Bornu, but from the latter in vain. After
having vanquished the troops of Wadai, Rabeh in 1893 crossed the Shari
and laid waste in a very short time the flourishing towns and districts
on both banks of this river. At first Sultan Ashimi took some
preliminary steps to ward off the formidable danger from his country.
But the Bornu troops, unused to war, who were dispatched against Rabeh,
suffered a complete defeat; their commander, Malla Kerim, was by order
of the conqueror sewn up in a freshly-flayed bullock hide, and so found
a horrible death exposed to the rays of the African sun.[50] Ashimi
himself, at the head of his troops, suffered a still more complete
defeat not far from Kukawa. He himself fled, but was thereupon killed by
his own nephew, Abba Kiari,[51] with whom before this he had had a
quarrel of long standing. Abba Kiari then even succeeded in surprising
and beating Rabeh in front of the capital, but this victory of the Bornu
troops was changed into crushing defeat, owing to their scattering too
early in order to plunder the enemy’s camp; their leader was captured
and executed. The fate of Bornu was thus sealed. Rabeh’s victory was
followed immediately by the destruction of Kukawa, at that time one of
the largest towns of the Sudan. Such of the royal family as did not fall
into captivity were able to save their lives. Omar Sanda, the eldest son
of Ashimi, first sought asylum in Mandara, but during Rabeh’s campaign
against that sultan fled from there to Zinder, where he was dependent on
the bounty of his former vassal, who now at last had become quite
independent. Rabeh now determined to consolidate his influence in the
lately conquered districts before pushing his dominion further. He built
up the ancient town of Dikoa into a capital, whither flowed all the
riches of the Central Sudan, and made it a place which, with its
reported population of 100,000 souls, surpassed all other towns in these
latitudes from the Senegal to the Nile. The town was surrounded with a
strong wall, inside which the conqueror established an impregnable
citadel which contained his palace and the barracks, stabling, armoury,
and powder magazine for his troops. Everything was arranged with the
greatest precision, probably on the example of the English in the
Egyptian Sudan. The troops were even regularly drilled,[52] and every
Friday a parade of the whole armed force took place, which gave Rabeh an
opportunity of assuring himself of the readiness of his forces to take
the field.[53] Estimates vary as to the actual numbers of his army,
which was distributed between Dikoa and a border garrison on the Shari,
but they certainly amounted to at least 20,000 men.[54] The provisioning
of these masses of troops, who were encumbered with large additions of
women and children, weighed heavily on the districts hardly yet
incorporated as a result of the recent campaigns. Moreover, the slave-
hunts were an oppressive scourge in the populous districts, which
provided women and slaves for the soldiery, who were detested for their
imperious dealings. To this was added the fact that Rabeh enforced the
legal ordinances of the Koran with a strictness that the population,
though very largely Mohammedan, were bound to feel as a sweeping
limitation of personal liberty. In quite external matters also Rabeh
sought to make his influence prevalent. Foureau mentions as ‘Rabeh’s
mark’ (a sort of notched cross on the face forming an enormous raised
scar) a kind of tattooing or brand, which the people of two communities,
whom the traveller met with, bore on their foreheads.[55] The
conqueror’s influence extended even to dress, and in this direction,
indeed, with very little compulsion; a sort of shirt with three shield-
shaped pieces of cloth sewn on, which is very smart and yet practical
for all occasions, has partly displaced the Sudan ‘tobe’, the usual
native dress for men.[56]
Of whatever kind the influence of Rabeh and his followers may have shown
itself, this much is certain, that their pitiless cruelty, which spared
neither pagan nor Mohammedan, drew upon them the deep-rooted hatred of
the subjugated peoples, a circumstance which will be of great weight in
the occurrences which now follow. While Rabeh on the one side sought to
preserve good relations with the border powers in order to keep open the
high roads into his country, on the other, his preparations for
extending his rule over Zinder and Sokoto struck a blow at this, and
were followed in the years 1893 and 1894 by the partition—at any rate on
the map—of the Lake Chad countries between the three colonial powers
interested, viz. Germany, England, and France. The French, who had
already pushed their advance posts into the region of the upper Shari,
were the first of the three powers to move, and in a very tentative way
to further the practical joining up of their newly acquired possessions
within their great African colonial empire. They consequently very soon
came into conflict with Rabeh.
In 1897 Gentil, a civil officer of the French Congo, undertook a voyage
down the Shari from the region of the upper Ubanghi, in order to bring
the Sultanate of Bagirmi under French influence. He met with a far-
sighted reception from this Sultan, who hoped to be preserved from the
yoke of Rabeh by the arrival of the French. The _Léon Blot_,[57] the
little river gunboat which carried the expedition, penetrated right to
the Shari delta unmolested by Rabeh’s garrisons, and returned unmolested
also, being greeted everywhere with a friendly reception by the river
people.[58] Thereupon Gentil without delay betook himself to Paris, in
order to set on foot a big expedition from thence. Meanwhile Rabeh
revenged himself for Gentil’s demonstrative reception there by laying
waste the whole of Bagirmi. Moreover, the unfortunate French trader, de
Béhagle, who was accidentally mixed up in the economic politics of the
Chad region, fell a victim to Rabeh’s fury and, by his orders, was
hanged in Dikoa.[59] Gentil’s representative Prins only waited for the
arrival of the expedition: as soon as it entered the Shari in the summer
of 1899 the campaign against Rabeh immediately commenced. Very
unfortunately for the French the beginning of the campaign miscarried,
for the leader of the advance-guard, Bretonnet, who had greatly under-
estimated the enemy’s strength, allowed himself to be misled into making
a premature attack. In the battle at Togbao on the Shari, Rabeh directed
his troops in person and Bretonnet’s column was completely annihilated;
its leader fell and all the rifles and three guns fell into the hands of
the enemy.[60]
Hereupon Gentil advanced in person and defeated Rabeh in the autumn of
the same year in the desperately contested battle of Kuno; but the heavy
losses suffered by his own troops determined him to await in Fort
Archambault fresh reinforcements from the Congo. By a fortunate accident
two further French expeditions arrived almost simultaneously in the Lake
Chad region. At the beginning of December the expedition under Joalland
and Meynier coming from Zinder by way of Kanem reached the Shari, but it
was not till the beginning of the following year that they effected a
junction with Gentil. On the 2nd of November the ‘Sahara Mission’ under
the scientist Foureau arrived in Zinder from Asben. In their presence
Omar Sanda, the man who had fled to Zinder, was proclaimed—somewhat
prematurely—as Sultan of Bornu by his followers.[61] Foureau too
thereupon marched via Kanem to the Shari, where he joined Joalland. At
this point Major Lamy, who had hitherto been in charge of the escort of
the ‘Sahara Mission’, took over chief command of the combined forces,
which soon afterwards came into touch with Rabeh’s outposts. On the 3rd
of March, 1900, the French succeeded in capturing Kusseri, but they
could not strike a decisive blow against Rabeh until the arrival of
Gentil. On the very next day after his arrival, on the 22nd of April,
the decisive battle was fought,[62] when the French brought into action
800 riflemen armed with modern weapons against the entire fighting force
of Rabeh. Whilst the battle was at its height, Rabeh fell;[63] he had
taken up his position at the ‘Tata’, or earthwork constructed by his
troops. His head was brought into the French camp. But the French had
also bought their victory dearly: Lamy was mortally wounded and Capt. de
Cointet killed. The enemy fled with headlong speed to Dikoa, which
however soon afterwards fell into the hands of the French. Yet even this
by no means put an end to the struggle, for the remains of the beaten
army rallied under Fadel Allah, Niebe, and Mahmud, the still
youthful[64] sons of their fallen leader, of whom Fadel Allah especially
gave the French plenty more to do, though the latter had on their side
the sympathy and to some extent the assistance of the exasperated
natives. Meanwhile Omar was installed as Sultan in Dikoa by Gentil, but
was very soon relegated again to banishment for having made attempts on
the life of his benefactor. He was then replaced by his brother
Garbai.[65] Fadel Allah had shifted the scene of his activities to the
River Yedseram, and thus threatened to be a standing danger to the
neighbourhood of Dikoa, although the French remained victors in the
hard-fought battles which were contested along the river at Issege and
Mubi. In spite of the successes of the French, the energetic son of
Rabeh managed to again reconquer Dikoa, after having completely defeated
the Sultan. The French punitive expedition, which immediately followed,
was so energetically conducted that Fadel Allah was obliged to fly to
Gujba, far inside English territory. Here he came into touch with the
English,[66] under whose protection he put himself, and through whose
mediation he hoped to become Sultan of Bornu. The English were
favourably disposed towards the suggestions, or rather, the expressed
wishes of Fadel Allah on this point,[67] and would certainly have helped
him towards their realization, had not events forestalled them. Fadel
Allah was killed in renewed fighting with the French, and the question
was thus arranged in the simplest and most satisfactory fashion. Above
all, the country recovered the tranquillity which it had lacked for so
long.
A short time after these events the English attracted Sultan Garbai and
his following to that part of Bornu that belonged to their sphere of
influence. Thereupon the French put in Omar Sanda, a nephew of the other
Omar deposed by themselves, as an opposition Sultan in Dikoa,[68] to
prevent that town being depopulated. The part of Bornu situated between
the Yedseram and the Shari still remained under the administration of
the French garrisons in Dikoa and the places on the latter river. It was
not till the arrival of the German expedition under Lieut.-Col. Pavel
(1902) that the territory, which had hitherto only been German on the
map, was actually brought under the protection of the Empire. After
various experiments, the part of Bornu which had fallen to Germany was
finally formed into a province under the name of the German Chad
Territory, whose administrative head-quarters were established at
Kusseri. Such was the position taken up by the colonial powers
interested towards the economic investigation and development of the
country. The English have certainly had more pressing and important
problems to solve in their great Niger Protectorate than the development
of Bornu, which is its remotest province; so that our knowledge of the
British part of the country has not been substantially increased since
Rohlfs’ and Nachtigal’s time.[69] The exact opposite is true of the
German part, which is what will be chiefly described in the following
pages; for it has been so thoroughly explored in all directions by
Germans as well as French in supplement of already existing materials,
that very little remains to be done in the geographical department of
inquiry. Besides Commissions, which have laid down in actual practice
the political boundaries hitherto only theoretical, the country has been
traversed by larger or smaller expeditions, who have accomplished
valuable economic discoveries. The French have been especially active in
seeking to approach the solution of one of the most interesting of
geographical questions, i.e. the difficult problem of Lake Chad, a task
which has not even to-day been finally and incontestably accomplished.
[Footnote 6: Barth, vol. ii, chap. xxix, and Chronological Table, vol.
ii, p. 633; Nachtigal, ii. 392.]
[Footnote 7: Nachtigal, ii. 401. In the same passage he treats of the
etymology of the word ‘Bornu’.]
[Footnote 8: [Vid. Appendix III.]]
[Footnote 9: Nachtigal, ii. 394.]
[Footnote 10: Nachtigal, ii. 400.]
[Footnote 11: [Hume ben Abd el Djelil, 1086-97. No. 12 on Vischer’s list
of Bornu kings, vid. Appendix II.]]
[Footnote 12: [1221-59. No. 17 _idem_.]]
[Footnote 13: At that time it was even in close relations with Tunis.
Ibn Chaldun, ii. 346.]
[Footnote 14: Barth, Chronological Table, vol. ii, p. 647.]
[Footnote 15: Nachtigal, ii. 404. Cf. _Deutsches Kolonialblatt_, xvii,
p. 802.]
[Footnote 16: [Does not appear, under that name at any rate, in
Vischer’s list. Barth gives his date as 1472-1504, Nachtigal as 1465-92,
Landeroin as 1437-65.]]
[Footnote 17: [Or Koganawa = grandees. Cf. ‘Kogana’ in Vocabulary of
Benton, _Kanuri Readings_.]]
[Footnote 18: [For derivation vid. note [8].]]
[Footnote 19: Leo Africanus, iii. 308. Still less trustworthy is the
account given by Ibn Batuta. Ibn Batuta, iii. 441.]
[Footnote 20: [Vischer, _idem_; Nachtigal, 1563-1614; Landeroin,
1545-96. He is called Aloma because he is said to have been buried in
the middle of the little lake of Alo near Maiduguri.]]
[Footnote 21: Denham, i. 211; Barth, iv. 23, vid. also Barth, ii. 658.]
[Footnote 22: Barth, ii. 649.]
[Footnote 23: [St. John, p. 214, relates that the Bornu army mistook a
herd of ostriches for the Fulani invaders and fled in panic.]]
[Footnote 24: [Lamino (el Amin) was the son of a Kanembu, Sheikh Langa,
and an Arab woman from Zouïla in the Tripolitaine. Like his father, he
studied as a young man with the Koyams of Gaserregomo (Kasr Kumo), and
accompanied him on a pilgrimage to Mecca. His father having died at
Medina, Sheikh Lamino returned to Kanem. Tilho, _Doc. sc._ ii. 358.]]
[Footnote 25: _Adansonia digitata_. [Tilho, _Doc. sc._ i. 221, gives its
astronomical position as lat. 12° 55′ 36″, long. 11° 13′ 34″. Kukawa no
longer exists except as a mass of ruins and as a farm hamlet. Provincial
head-quarters were moved to Maiduguri (Maifoni) in 1906, and the new
town of Shehuri (Yeriwa) built for the Shehu and his following.]]
[Footnote 26: [They were accompanied by William Hillman, a naval
carpenter, at a salary of £120 per annum (Denham, i. xvii). He returned
safely to Europe, as did Denham and Clapperton.
Dr. Walter Oudney, M.D., died at Murmur, near Katagum, on January 12,
1824 (Denham, ii. 227).
Ensign Toole of the 80th Regt., who proceeded from Malta as a volunteer
with stores to revictual the Expedition, and reached Kukawa on December
23, 1823 (Denham, i. 311), died at Ngala, between the Yedseram and the
Shari, on February 26, 1824 (Denham, ii. 23). Mr. Tyrwhitt, who arrived
in Kukawa on May 20, 1824, with presents for the Shehu and stores for
the Expedition (Denham, ii. 41), and who on the departure of Denham and
Clapperton was left as British Consul in Kukawa, died there on October
23-4, 1824; the Shehu reported his death to the British Consul at
Tripoli and sent a list of his effects (Denham, ii. 385).]]
[Footnote 27: According to Denham’s estimate they numbered at that time
30,000 men. Denham, ii. 165.]
[Footnote 28: [He died at Ngurutua (i.e. the place of hippopotami). For
Barth’s account of his death, vid. Benton, _Notes on Some Languages_, p.
174.]]
[Footnote 29: [For account of Overweg’s death and further information
about him vid. Benton, _Notes on Some Languages_.]]
[Footnote 30: [For Overweg’s boat brought from Malta in pieces, vid.
Benton, _Notes on Some Languages_, p. 164. The late Boyd Alexander
thought he had discovered the remains of this boat in Lake Chad (_From
the Niger to the Nile_, ii. 66). Tilho, in _Documents scientifiques_, i.
10, adduces strong reasons for thinking that it was only the remains of
a Kotoko canoe lost by the Lenfant expedition in 1903.]]
[Footnote 31: Barth, iii. 175, 193-5, 236-7.]
[Footnote 32: [For account of Vogel and his death, and of the two
English sappers who accompanied the expedition, vid. Benton, _Notes on
Some Languages_.]]
[Footnote 33: Barth, iv. 63; Rohlfs, ii. 81.]
[Footnote 34: Cf. also Polko, _Erinnerungen an einen Verschollenen_.]
[Footnote 35: _Zeitschrift für allgemeine Erdkunde_, vol. xv (1863), p.
538; Rohlfs, ii. 81; Nachtigal, ii. 251 and 264.]
[Footnote 36: [Nachtigal was accompanied by a Piedmontese cook, Giuseppe
Valpreda, who became converted to Islam, called himself Mohamed el
Mussulmani, and remained in Kuka with the Shehu. He was seen there by
Monteil in 1892, and by the Niger Co. mission under McIntosh at the end
of 1890. He died when fleeing from Rabeh in 1893; cf. Benton, _Notes on
Some Languages_, p. 304, quoting from Dujarric, _Vie du Sultan Rabah_,
p. 53, and Tilho, _Doc. sc._ i. 15.]]
[Footnote 37: Nachtigal, ii. 626 and 733. He refers here especially to
the slave-raids of the sultans of Bagirmi.]
[Footnote 38: Reclus, p. 660; Oppenheim, p. 159. [Cf. note under Massari
in List of Authorities.]]
[Footnote 39: [For a less favourable account of Lamino, Omar, and their
successors vid. Appendix IV.]]
[Footnote 40: Nachtigal, ii. 413.]
[Footnote 41: Nachtigal, i. 602; ii. 10; vid. also Rohlfs, ii. 103.]
[Footnote 42: Barth, iii. 36 and 116; Nachtigal, i. 564 and 572. Cf.
also Monteil, p. 313.]
[Footnote 43: Barth, iii. 171-2; Nachtigal, ii. 501 and 503.]
[Footnote 44: Monteil, p. 344.]
[Footnote 45: [According to Col. Chaillé-Long’s _My Life in Four
Continents_, Gessi started as Gordon’s Italian valet, and used to be
unmercifully cuffed and kicked by his master. Later, he was promoted to
a more important position and did not appreciate these attentions, which
did not entirely cease. Col. Chaillé-Long was Gordon’s American chief of
staff. Zobeir died near Khartoum on January 5, 1913.]]
[Footnote 46: Oppenheim, p. 11.]
[Footnote 47: [For account of Rabeh vid. Appendix V, and for a more
authoritative account vid. Gentil, _La Chute de l’Empire de Rabah_, and
Gaston Dujarric, _La Vie de Rabah_.]]
[Footnote 48: [Vid. Benton, _Notes on Some Languages_, p. 304.]]
[Footnote 49: Oppenheim, pp. 24, 29, and 41.]
[Footnote 50: Oppenheim, p. 44.]
[Footnote 51: [Abba Kiari, or Shehu Kiari, seems to have been almost the
only representative of the Kanemy dynasty with a spark of energy or
courage. As is mentioned in _Boyd Alexander’s Last Journey_, p. 188, he
seldom uncovered his face, as his nose had practically been eaten away
by a malignant disease, and his speech was so much affected that only
one person among his people, a Mallam, could understand him.]]
[Footnote 52: [Rabeh is said always to have personally supervised the
musketry instruction of his gun-men.]]
[Footnote 53: Oppenheim, p. 58. This custom is still kept up by Sanda,
Shehu of German Bornu. Cf. also Dominik, p. 151.]
[Footnote 54: About 4,000-5,000 men were furnished with fire-arms, some
of quite modern pattern, and were well trained in fire-discipline.]
[Footnote 55: Foureau, _D’Alger au Congo_, p. 589. Similar statements
were made to me in 1903 at various places in Bornu. I was, however,
shown a brand different from Foureau’s description as ‘Rabeh’s mark’.
Even the Arab merchants and their servants, settled in Dikoa in Rabeh’s
time, had to submit to this barbarous tattooing.]
[Footnote 56: Vid. also Foureau, p. 686, and Lenfant, p. 173 (plate).]
[Footnote 57: [This historic little steamer has lately been employed by
the French in surveying navigable channels in Lake Chad. There is a
picture of her in Gentil, _La Chute de l’Empire de Rabah_.]]
[Footnote 58: Gentil, p. 98.]
[Footnote 59: [Sururu, now headman of one of the ‘wards’ in Shehuri, the
Shehu’s quarter of the new capital of British Bornu, was in charge of
the execution. It took place on August 15, 1899; vid. Decorse, _Rabah_,
&c., p. 36, for native account. For photograph of his monument at Dikoa
vid. Tilho, _Doc. sc._, ii. 376.]]
[Footnote 60: Gentil, p. 125.]
[Footnote 61: Foureau, _D’Alger au Congo_, p. 602.]
[Footnote 62: Gentil, p. 211. [Fadel Allah was not present, vid.
Appendix XVIII.]]
[Footnote 63: [The dramatic account of Rabeh’s death, reminiscent of
_King Solomon’s Mines_, as given in Macleod, _Chiefs and Cities of
Central Africa_, p. 147, must be apocryphal. It is quite different from
that given by Gentil. The Editor of _Boyd Alexander’s Last Journey_, p.
186, practically admits that it is incorrect.]]
[Footnote 64: Fadel Allah was then twenty-six years old.]
[Footnote 65: Oppenheim, p. 121. [The present Shehu of British Bornu.
There is a photograph of him in Macleod, p. 244. Ex-Shehu Omar Sanda,
surnamed Kura (the elder) and Kori (the short), is now Ajia of the
British district of Gujba.]]
[Footnote 66: [June, 1901. In the person of the late Major A.
McClintock, D.S.O., Seaforth Highlanders, formerly commanding the 1st
Batt. Northern Nigeria Regt., and until his recent death second senior
Political Officer of Bornu Province. His escort was commanded by Sergt.
Moman Machena (Auta), now a Preventive Service Agent in Bornu. Cf.
Decorse, _Rabah_, &c., p. 18.]]
[Footnote 67: Oppenheim, p. 123; Möckler-Ferryman, p. 142. Fadel Allah
was in fact actually recognized as Sultan of Bornu. [This is hardly
correct. Sir F. D. Lugard in his _Report on Northern Nigeria for 1901_
mentions that Major McClintock presented Fadel Allah with a shot gun of
his own. This led to a report, believed by the French, that the British
authorities were supplying Fadel Allah with rifles. Major McClintock
formed a high opinion of Fadel Allah, who appears to have been a most
gallant soldier and a capable and determined ruler. Major McClintock’s
report was wholly in favour of recognizing Fadel Allah as Emir of Bornu.
After the French had killed Fadel Allah at Gujba, they demanded from
Shehu Garbai an indemnity of $80,000. They managed to wring $73,500 from
the exhausted country before the arrival of Col. Morland and a British
column. Captain McCarthy Morrogh with a company of the West African
Frontier Force was left at Maiduguri (Maifoni) as temporary military
resident until the arrival of Mr. W. P. Hewby, who was appointed civil
Resident of Bornu. Vid. Lugard, _Report on N. Nigeria for 1902_.]]
[Footnote 68: Moisel, p. 184. [Captain McCarthy Morrogh escorted Garbai
in from Dikoa.]]
[Footnote 69: [Thanks! P. A. B.]]
III
SITUATION AND PHYSICAL CONFORMATION
Bornu is a political not a geographical entity. It is difficult, owing
to the continuous changes to which the political expansion of Bornu was
subjected in the course of centuries, to lay down its outline with even
approximate correctness, especially as natural boundaries are
conspicuous by their absence. If we leave almost entirely out of
consideration the arbitrary divisions which resulted from the partition
of the country between the three colonial powers, England, France, and
Germany, we cannot do better on the whole even to-day than follow the
line left behind by Nachtigal as the result of his conscientious
investigations.[70] The extreme limits of Bornu practically correspond
to a rhombus, whose longer diagonal runs from north-west to south-east.
The tenth and fourteenth degrees of north latitude and the tenth and
sixteenth degrees east of Greenwich denote in general the line beyond
which districts belonging to Bornu do not, or do not appreciably,
extend.[71] Bornu is clearly defined only on the east, where Lake Chad
and its affluent the Shari form a natural boundary; it is tolerably
clear also in part on the south, where indeed the Mandara highlands
belonging to Adamawa form a natural boundary-wall. All other boundaries
are more or less undetermined. Between the Shari and the highlands, the
southern boundary of Bornu is practically coterminous with the southern
boundary of the Musgu tribe—whose territory long furnished Bornu with
the majority of its slaves—and almost coincides with the tenth degree of
north latitude.[72] East of the Mandara highlands the boundary does not
reach quite so far south, it touches here the country of the Marghi
pagans between Bornu and Adamawa, and goes from about Kofa on the River
Yedseram in a westerly direction till it reaches the River Gongola,
follows this upwards for a short distance, and then becomes a western
boundary bending round, leaving Katagum to the west, and runs north-west
to Zinder.[73] From the point of intersection of this line with the
tenth meridian, the Bornu boundary then runs north of Lake Chad through
the country of the Tuareg, whose forays indeed were the cause of
constant alterations of the border. The boundaries given above embrace a
territory measuring in round figures 140,000 square kilometres.[74]
This great territory was first partitioned among the three colonial
powers only on the map;[75] and it was not till the year 1903 that the
settlement of their boundaries was commenced, a work which has only
quite recently been concluded. The northern and smallest part,
stretching from the Komadugu Yo and lying north of it, belongs to the
French Sahara. The largest and central part consists of British Bornu,
the north-easterly province of Northern Nigeria, and faces on the east
the German Chad Territory belonging to the German Kameruns, and extends
along the River Yedseram and the water-courses which establish a
connexion in the rains between this river and Lake Chad. Only to the
west of Dikoa does the boundary make a slight deviation over the
Yedseram towards the north-west so as to include the arable land
belonging to Dikoa.
Bornu is extraordinarily uniform in its physical conformation, perhaps
more uniform than any other country of similar size in tropical Africa.
It consists of a single vast plain covered with alluvial soil, with an
average height above sea-level of between 300 and 450 metres, sloping
almost imperceptibly to the lowest level of the Central Sudan, i.e. the
shallow depression of Lake Chad, and never reaching a considerable
elevation, save in the border districts, if we except the sand-dunes and
the Wasa rocks which jut out of the plain. Although the question of
mountain formation lies outside Bornu proper, yet it deserves notice,
for where the mountains appear they mark the border districts of the
otherwise flat country in conspicuous fashion. For not only the
mountains in themselves, but also in places the flora which is dependent
on them, give the landscape an appearance varying from that of the rest
of Bornu. But since the way of life of the ruling tribes of the country
is bound up with the plain and its products, these districts coincide
naturally with the political boundaries.
The mountains, when they do appear, are of massive granite formation and
are often of very peculiar shape; and they are only found in the extreme
north-west and in the south of Bornu. The mountains in the north-west
include the hill country of Zinder and Munio. They are remarkable on
account of their composition. Immediately east of Zinder stretches north
and south a mass of quartz rich in natural cisterns, which is bordered
on the west, south, and east by masses of granite, which partly in a
continuous chain and partly in the form of a single cone form the
connexion with the highlands of Munio.[76] The granite mountains of
Munio, which reach a height of 600 metres, are continued towards the
south-south-east by single ‘kopjes’ of the same rock, which get lower
and lower until they finally quite disappear. Peculiar to all this
district, which has many of the characteristics of the desert, are the
numerous lakes and pools very strongly impregnated with natron, which
extend, moreover, as far as Chad and in places attain considerable
dimensions, such as the twin lakes of Badamuni or Gadabuni described by
Barth.[77]
Far grander than the above-mentioned mountain districts are the granite
masses which form the boundary of Bornu on the south for a long
distance. The highest elevation reached is in the highlands of Mandara
belonging to Adamawa, which push out their northern spurs, such as the
Seledeba Range, which is over 1,300 metres high, like rocky peninsulas
far into the Bornu plains. The peculiar wild beauty of these mountains
has already been aptly described as follows by Denham: ‘Though not to be
compared with the higher Alps, the Apennines, the Jura, or even the
Sierra Morena in magnitude, yet by none of these are they surpassed in
picturesque interest.’[78] This mountain mass is flanked both east and
west by peculiar rock formations, which may best be compared to greater
or lesser rocky islets in the ocean, for they jut up quite promiscuously
from the alluvial plain. If one stands on an elevated point in the
country round Issege and lets one’s glance wander southwards, one has a
surprising panorama in front of one, provided the weather is clear. The
whole plain seems studded with shapes of various sizes, which assume the
most bizarre forms and show the most diverse stages of disintegration;
one sees hemispherical, cone or needle-shaped hills, even regular
mountain ranges, such as that of Uba, some of them of considerable
height, all over the plain, which are completely separated from each
other and thus give the impression of insularity. The country on the
north and east flanks of the Mandara Range is of similar formation, and
among them is that of the well-known double cone of the Mendif. In some
instances these granite formations hardly rise above the level of the
surrounding country; such masses of rock in the form of giant tables of
stone embedded in the soil are found between Uba and Issege on the left
bank of the River Yedseram. The already mentioned Wasa[79] rocks are an
offshoot of the extreme limit of this mountain country: they are in
about 11° 30′ north latitude and their contours are a welcome change in
the monotony of the plain.[80] Otherwise Bornu is entirely free from
rock formations, and it is only in the country near Gujba that Rohlfs
mentions the appearance of red sandstone.[81]
The low-lying plain itself consists entirely of a sandy argillaceous
soil, the composition of which, however, is not uniform but contains
sometimes a larger proportion of loam, sometimes of sand. The
appearances which are most characteristic of this plain, viz. sand-dunes
and the ‘firki’ soil peculiar to Bornu, are only intelligible by
studying simultaneously its hydrographic conditions, which are indeed of
supreme economic importance in this Central African country.
Bornu is, hydrographically considered, one of the most interesting
districts in Africa, for its character is essentially influenced by the
peculiar lake known as Lake Chad and by its affluents, which form its
boundaries for long stretches or flow through it. A study of this
important Central African inland lagoon and its water-system, whose
investigation is amongst the most disputed of geographical problems, is
absolutely necessary for the understanding of many important questions.
Lake Chad, whose average water-level according to Tilho is 283 metres
above the sea,[82] fills the tray-shaped depression, to which the Bornu
plain slopes gradually from south-west to north-east. While it is itself
extraordinarily shallow—in the deepest part the lead only marks fourteen
metres—no perceptible effluent can be traced, and for a great part of
its surface, owing to the fact that its banks are flat and nowhere
sharply defined, and owing to a constantly varying volume of water, it
is subject to continuous fluctuations. These fluctuations do not only
depend on the seasons, they appear also in the course of long periods
during which the shore-line may shift inside a zone of ten or more
kilometres broad. A French writer, Lieut. Freydenberg,[83] relying on
native information, calculates shorter periods of twenty years, which
bring slight fluctuations in the level of the lake, and longer ones of
about seventy years, during which it is said that there is an
alternation between a nearly complete disappearance of water and a very
considerable inundation. This theory, however, contradicts the
observations of Barth, Rohlfs, and Nachtigal. When Barth on his
exploring expedition visited Lake Chad for the second time (in 1855),
the places along the western shore of the lake were threatened by an
extensive inundation, and the town of Ngornu was actually completely
destroyed.[84] Eleven years later, on Rohlfs’ visit, the shore of the
lake was quite within normal limits.[85] According to Freydenberg’s
theory a steady retrogression of the water-level of the lake ought to
have followed until it had nearly completely dried up; instead of which
Nachtigal in 1871 found an inundation which probably surpassed that of
1855, because it actually threatened Kukawa, which lies far from the
lake.[86] A similar high-water period has not appeared again since
Nachtigal’s time, on the contrary a continual shrinkage of the shore of
the lake from year to year is to be registered; this shrinkage has been
under scientific observation, for since 1900 the lake has been subjected
by the French to careful inquiry in every direction.[87] Freydenberg,
who in the summer of 1905 traversed the northern part of Chad, found
that the retreat of the water had proceeded so far, that between Barua
and Ngigmi on the west bank a broad ridge of completely dried-up country
had pushed itself eastwards right into the middle of the lake. As long
as the laws which govern the periodically recurring inundations are
still unknown, the yearly recurring alterations in the level of the lake
can only be attributed to the rise and fall of the rivers, to which the
Chad, in addition to its own relatively small rainfall, owes its supply
of water. To its most important affluent, the Shari, the lake owes
practically two-thirds of the volume of water discharged into it; on
this river, as well as on the season, depends its average depth. At the
end of December, that is in the middle of the dry season, when all the
other affluents are falling and the majority of the river-courses in the
southern bay of Chad are already dried up, the lake is actually still
rising, for at that time the Shari is still discharging into it a large
quantity of water. From the middle of December to the end of January the
Chad has reached its high-water mark and then occupies an area of about
20,000 square kilometres. Soon afterwards, in consequence of enormous
evaporation, the lake begins to fall rapidly and continues falling even
when the rainy season has already set in. Countless mud- or sand-banks
then emerge, which have hitherto been covered with only a few inches of
water, and now in some parts put on a green carpet of vegetation: owing
to these the lake’s navigability, always of a very limited nature, is
rendered still more difficult, if not entirely suspended.[88] In the
end, apart from the often canal-like lagoons, which surround the
countless islands on the Kanem shore of the lake, there remain only two
comparatively small areas of open water, and they lie at the mouths of
the two chief rivers, but have so little connexion with each other, that
their water shows a different chemical composition.[89]
The regrettably small proportion of water in the lake during the dry
season, which was not inquired into till within the last ten years, has
no doubt contributed to render it possible that individual French
travellers can express themselves so extremely pessimistically about the
lake’s future. Audoin even calculates that according to his observations
there is in normal years a sinking of about 0·15 of a metre[90] in the
level of the lake. Only the future can teach us whether the retreat of
the lake—apart from the loss of water due to natural evaporation—is
connected with a subterraneous outlet[91] (perhaps into the bed of the
Bahr-el-Ghazal) which it has constructed for itself in the course of
years, with alterations in meteorological conditions at the sources of
its chief affluents, or simply with tectonic displacement. Perhaps, as a
matter of fact, it will again enter on a high-water period, similar to
that observed by Barth and Nachtigal. At any rate, the information now
available with regard to the lake itself, comprising only the results of
inquiries of the last ten years,[92] is not sufficient to enable us to
form a definite judgement.
Lastly, one must also, with regard to the alterations in the level of
the lake, take account of those phenomena recurring daily during the dry
season, which certainly have a similarity with the periodical movements
of this inland sea, but are attributable solely to the prevailing winds.
The north-east trade wind produces, quite mechanically and always
according to its strength, a slight rise or fall of the water on the
flat south-western shore of the lake. D’Huart’s assumption that the
greater evaporation caused by the wind also influences this phenomenon
seems to rest on slender foundations, since during the time when the
wind drops, i.e. the morning hours, insolation, operating in the same
sense but more intensely, sets in.[93]
Moreover, since evaporation or percolation happens to be exerted over so
extraordinarily shallow a basin as that of Lake Chad, alterations are
inevitable owing to the deposit of the silt brought down by the rivers.
The question is, what becomes of the quantities of water from the Shari
and other rivers when the basin of the lake has once been filled up with
the silt? This leads to another interesting problem, viz. the connexion
between Lake Chad and the Bahr-el-Ghazal, which in a way is a
continuation of the lake towards the east. The views on this question,
even of recent geographers, differ widely as to whether the Bahr-el-
Ghazal is a former affluent or an effluent of the lake. Although
Nachtigal tries to produce proof that this valley was formerly a channel
of effluence of Chad leading to the depression of Bodele, which lies 100
metres nearer sea-level,[94] yet some of the travellers who have
latterly examined these regions have set forth the opposite
assertion.[95] Freydenberg cites as a proof of this the delta-like
passage from the Bahr-el-Ghazal to the lake, as well as the appearance
of stones in this channel, which can only have originated from the
highlands of Tibesti in the Sahara.[96] The delta-like formation at the
mouth of the Bahr-el-Ghazal is at least not a sufficient argument, for
it resembles in many respects the mass of islands stretching north-
westwards along the Kanem shore of Chad.[97] This archipelago is of
enormous extent, and the number of its islands and islets is legion. All
these islands are of sandy formation and run longitudinally from north-
west to south-east, decreasing in height towards the middle of the
lake.[98] Where these rows of islands cut the Kanem shore they are
continued by sand-dunes; when the level of the lake is low, those dunes
which are nearest to the land assume the form of peninsulas; on the
other hand, canals in the form of countless lagoons running between the
islands penetrate the mainland and lend an extraordinarily jagged
appearance to the coast there.
Even the island, or more correctly the peninsula, of Seyorum on the
Bornu side has the same longitudinal direction from north-west to south-
east; the same applies to the dune formations which continue along the
Bornu shore roughly parallel with it. This remarkable identity of
direction between the dunes and the islands on the Kanem shore on the
one hand, and the dunes on the Bornu shore on the other, is at the root
of the conjecture in which Marquardsen indulges when he says, ‘the proof
that the islands belong geologically to the mainland would as a
consequence lead us to the conclusion that before the lake was here
there existed a desert which created the dunes.’[99] As a matter of
fact, such a conclusion would not be incorrect. How otherwise could the
existence of dunes on the Bornu side, in spite of the thickly overgrown
bank, be explained, unless in earlier times there was dry land where now
is the bed of the lake? And the whole behaviour of the lake speaks in
favour of such a theory. At all events, there can to-day be scarcely any
doubt that the islands are the ridge-tops of dunes which were cut off
from the land by water, but which formerly originated, like the still
existing dunes, under the influence of the strong north-east trade wind
prevailing in Bornu.[100] In what manner this collection of water, to
which the Chad owes its origin, has found room for itself, whether
through the blocking up of the Bahr-el-Ghazal, as Nachtigal
assumes,[101] or through tectonic movement, this indeed has still to be
definitely settled. Nachtigal’s assumption has in its favour the greater
probability; if one accepts his theory, one can also assume as causes of
the blocking up, owing to the slightness in depth of the depression, the
formation of dunes as well as the copious deposit of sediment by the
Shari. Audoin’s opinion, that volcanic disturbance has had a say in the
matter, would presuppose a high antiquity for the lake, which is
scarcely to be assumed, since neither the configuration of the shore nor
its vegetation warrants such a conclusion.[102]
A further point, which has called forth much discussion, concerns the
saltness of the lake. Barth, as well as Nachtigal, lays special stress
on the fact that Chad is a fresh-water lake;[103] Barth does so,
although he adds that the soda-impregnated soil on the north shore of
the lake ‘communicates this quality to the water’. Nay, he even says
further on (German edition, iii, p. 237): ‘It is very remarkable that,
while the water of Chad itself is fresh, the greater part of the water
found in the region quite close to the edge of the shore of the lake
contains natron.’ It was at this place that ‘the water was so strongly
impregnated with that mineral as to be scarcely drinkable’. Nowadays it
can hardly be any longer disputed that the water of Lake Chad is
salt—though certainly in a different sense to that of other well-known
salt inland seas—even if the actual quantity of salt present is so small
as to be generally not perceptible to the taste, at least at the period
of high water.[104] The saltness of the water varies not only according
to the time of year, but also according to its situation. The places
which are least salt are those which lie at the mouths of the rivers and
which are distinguished by the free flow of water. One may well
distinguish the water here at all times of the year as fresh or quite
fresh.[105] According to Tilho’s map of Lake Chad,[106] the saltness is
greater to the north of the two stretches of open water than to the
south of them. This tallies with the fact that those pools which are
partly separated from the lake, and which contain a more or less strong
solution of salt according to their volume of water, leaving behind when
evaporated a visible layer of this mineral, are also to be found along
the banks of the northern half of the lake, just where Denham was struck
by the taste of natron in the water.[107] These salt pools form the
continuation of that strip of country already mentioned, dotted with
salt lakes, which extends from Munio to the north-west corner of Lake
Chad and forms the southern boundary of the Sahara. The soil here
contains everywhere a considerable amount of natron, which gradually
disappears as one proceeds southwards. It is only natural that the water
of Chad should penetrate the natron-impregnated soil and communicate
traces of this mineral to the whole basin of the lake, traces which will
be perceptible in a greater or less degree according to the hydrographic
relations already described.
Of the rivers which mingle their waters in Lake Chad, the Shari with its
affluents and side streams is by far the most considerable and also the
most important for Bornu, although it is only in its lower reaches that
it flows through this country. Rising outside the Sudan proper, with its
furthest southerly sources lying somewhat below 6° of north latitude, in
a district whose climatic conditions show a strong resemblance to the
damp tropical basin of the Congo, it conveys a powerful volume of water,
and, including the Logone, which debouches into it, is the only affluent
of Lake Chad, which contains continuously flowing water at all times of
the year. In its lower reaches, which form the eastern boundary of
Bornu, the river has an average breadth of from 2,000 to 4,000 metres,
but below Kusseri it has dug itself a bed contracted to 1,000 metres,
and its banks have often a sheer drop of as much as ten metres. This bed
is, of course, not always full. Towards the end of the dry season it is
beset or constricted by multitudinous sand-banks, and the river itself
is generally not more than 400 metres broad and often less, but,
nevertheless, even then retains its navigability, and, with the
exception of a few fords, cannot be crossed except in canoes.[108] In
June the river begins to rise and reaches its highest point in October,
when its level has risen from four to seven metres; it then completely
fills its bed, and under certain circumstances even overflows its banks
far and wide. Conditions similar to those of the Shari prevail with its
most important affluent, the Logone. This river also takes its rise in
districts which are lower-lying than Bornu itself, though its sources do
not reach quite so far south; it also conveys a constant stream of
water, and in the rains shows a still greater inclination to overflow
its banks even than the Shari. Besides, in the rains it conveys to its
lower reaches, through numerous streams and rivulets, a large part of
the heavy rainfall from the Mandara highlands. The Logone, which rises
from three to four metres in the rains, shows in places a canal-like
character; its course is very tortuous, for with a very small fall it
apparently has great difficulty in forcing its way through the clayey
soil of the absolutely level plain. To the same reason is attributed the
endeavour of the river to build up a system of steep-banked side
streams, such as the deep and canal-like Lage-Matia (Laho-Matia) below
Musgu—a sort of discharge-valve for the pent-up masses of water. To this
also may be traced the origin of the numerous natural canals which unite
the Logone and the Shari, and which caused Barth to call this region
‘the African Holland’.[109] Many of these canals appear to have no
current whatever, and are designated in the language of the country
‘ngaldjam’[110] according to Barth, and are called by the same traveller
‘meadow-water’ or ‘flooded meadows’. This extensive network of natural
canals is nevertheless not sufficient to drain off the volume of water
brought down by the river, and so from about the end of September to a
time when the waters of Lake Chad are still far from being at their
highest level, widespread floods occur, which place a large part of
Bornu under water. Every year from August to January the whole country
between Logone and Matia is one huge lake which, during the time when
the water reaches its highest level, may even extend to Mandara, and out
of which the towns of the Musgu stick up like islands; the right bank of
the Logone till it reaches the Shari is also then far under water.
Communication between village and village is then only possible in
canoes, and even the harvest has often to be brought in in this
fashion.[111] At the beginning of the dry season the water in the canals
very quickly runs off and only remains in isolated spots—in fact, it
often dries up so completely that the canals appear as hollow roads, and
can be used as avenues of communication by people on foot.[112] To the
Shari-Logone system belongs also the Ba-Ili, the ‘second great artery of
the Musgu country’,[113] which has just the same characteristics as the
Logone, with which it is also connected through the various ‘ngaldjam’.
It has this difference, however, from the latter, apart from its size,
in that during the dry season it contains no flowing water, but only
exhibits larger or smaller stagnant lagoons. Moreover, before the
Logone, reinforced by the Ba-Ili, discharges itself into the Shari, it
sends towards Lake Chad a regular network of waterways of its own, which
are again themselves connected with the Shari, and thus give the
impression of a wide-branching delta. The many-armed delta proper at the
mouth of the Shari is, however, not in connexion with the network of
canals. In their condition during the dry season these water-courses
resemble the canals connecting the Shari and Logone; only a part of them
then have water communication with the lake. Before the many-limbed
river and canal system of the Shari-Logone reaches Lake Chad, it
occasions in places the formation of a very remarkable kind of soil
especially characteristic of these regions, a formation which is common
also to the other rivers flowing into Chad from the south of Bornu. This
formation is known in the country under the name of ‘firki’, a peculiar
boggy loam—very expressively called ‘terre cassée’ by Lenfant[114]—which
is saturated with water in the rainy season and forms a gigantic sponge,
while the humidity thus absorbed is again returned to Chad in the form
of little rivulets. Though entirely covered with water in the rainy
season, the ‘firki’ dries up within a few days, the deposits disappear,
and the rivulets dwindle, so that the soil as far as the eye can reach
is split open by gaping cracks over a yard deep, which divide the
surface into larger and smaller many-cornered lumps, and render the
crossing of the marsh over these stretches extraordinarily arduous both
for man and beast. Only isolated spots still remain covered with water,
and form during the dry weather perennial pools. Marquardsen’s
theory[115] that the ‘firki’ is a loamy deposit above a sandy subsoil
has the most probability: the sand allows the water to sink through and
withdraws it from the upper layer of loam, which, receiving no new
accessions of humidity, dries up completely under the intensive
insolation and splits asunder into big lumps. It is only where the
subsoil also is loamy that it is possible for the water to lie and form
those lakes that continue even during the dry weather. The layer of
‘firki’, quite different in its strength in different localities, is
only interrupted by the higher dune formations, it submerges the more
insignificant sand outcrops.
In many more striking ways the presence of ‘firki’ soil on the lower
course of the Yedseram, the third largest of the rivers flowing towards
the Chad basin, makes itself felt, as also on the smaller rivers Ngadda,
Goma, and Ngua, which happen to flow parallel to it. All these do not
reach Chad itself, but are in communication with the lake only during
the rains by means of larger stretches of flood water, in which the
current of the river is still perceptible, whilst the ‘firki’ soil
underneath, probably of considerable thickness here, absorbs vast masses
of the water.[116] The ‘firki’ is here sometimes piled up into regular
dikes—probably built up on sand-dunes underneath—as one can clearly
perceive in the dry weather at certain spots between Ulugo and Bornuski.
At this time of the year there remain also channels leading from these
‘firki’ masses to Chad, such as the Mbulu, in the form of stagnant
shallow canals consisting of extremely dirty water, whilst the streams
ending in the ‘firki’ district have long ago dwindled away. The Yedseram
is remarkable in that its hard gravelly bed contains in its upper
courses even in March, i.e. at the end of the dry season, a continuous
flow of water; and above all, in that its sources springing from the
Mandara Highlands form even then mountain brooks of crystal clearness,
and in some cases of considerable size. But below Mutube the water
dwindles and becomes more and more exiguous among the pebbles, and then
enters the dried-up river-bed consisting of pools more or less deep,
whose water becomes more and more dull-coloured as the loamy low-lying
plain is reached. At the end of September it has reached its highest
level, and is then impassable except at the fords even above Issege, but
even by October the running water has quickly fallen again, and recedes
further and further towards the source.
Much more considerable than this river, both as regards its length[117]
as well as its volume of water, is the river of Yo or the Komadugu-Yobe.
It takes its rise from quite a number of streams, which unite into one
river below the ruins of the ancient capital, Ghasr Eggomo, after
forming large and numerous fertile islands in a rich low-lying plain.
The main stream proper comes from the Hausa States and is known as the
river of Katagum, that on the left, which is not much smaller, as the
river of Hadeija, and that on the right coming from southernmost Bornu
and rising south-east of Gujba is called Ansei. The streams coming from
the north-west, such as the river flowing from Yamia, are mere ‘wadis’,
as might be expected from the desert districts where they rise, and seem
to contain running water only intermittently. The bed of the Komadugu-
Yobe is scarcely fifty metres broad at the mouth, and the river
discharges itself into Lake Chad without any delta being formed; during
a great part of the year it contains no running water, and at the
beginning of the rains has nothing to show but a few larger or smaller
pools. At the beginning of July the river begins to contain running
water, and by the end of November, when it reaches its highest level and
overflows its banks, it can only be crossed by artificial means; but it
falls again very quickly, and by the end of January it is again
fordable, so that it can only fulfil the duty entrusted to it of forming
a bulwark on the border against the hordes of robber Tuaregs in a very
imperfect fashion and for a very short time.
[Footnote 70: Nachtigal, ii. 380.]
[Footnote 71: Denham gives the respective degrees as 10° and 15° N., and
12° and 18° E. (Denham, ii. 138). The difference is accounted for by the
fact that Denham regarded Kanem as still forming part of Bornu.]
[Footnote 72: Along the tenth degree of north latitude runs also a part
of the present boundary-line between the German Kameruns and the French
Congo.]
[Footnote 73: Cf. also the map annexed to Lugard’s ‘Northern Nigeria’ in
_Colonial Reports_, 1907. Even this boundary-line is somewhat arbitrary,
since the districts in question belonged sometimes to Bornu and
sometimes to the Hausa States on its western border. But the spheres of
influence of the adjoining Sultanates are not exactly determined.]
[Footnote 74: Nachtigal puts it at 150,000 square kilometres. Nachtigal,
ii. 382.]
[Footnote 75: Cf. also below.]
[Footnote 76: Chudeau, p. 334.]
[Footnote 77: Barth, iv. 68. One-half of the lake contains fresh water.]
[Footnote 78: Denham, i. 174.]
[Footnote 79: Barth, iii. 255.]
[Footnote 80: Even immediately to the south of Chad shore, but outside
Bornu, in Bagirmi country, there is a similar rock formation, Hadjer el
Hamis (called Hadjer Teous by Denham) composed, according to Foureau, of
rhyolite. Foureau, _Doc. sc._, p. 728. Cf. also Denham, ii. 52, and the
plate in Lenfant, p. 203. [Cf. p. 311 of the present work.]]
[Footnote 81: Rohlfs, ii. 120.]
[Footnote 82: _La Géographie_, xiii (1906), p. 203.]
[Footnote 83: _La Géographie_, xv (1907), p. 169.]
[Footnote 84: Barth, ii. 322; cf. v. 396. Even Denham mentions a
considerable rise of Chad (at the beginning of February), owing to which
the cotton plants at Wudi were under water. Denham, i. 73.]
[Footnote 85: Marquardsen attributes the high water mentioned by Rohlfs
(ii. 87) to the flooding of the River Wobe (_Mitteil. aus d. deutschen
Schutzgeb._ xviii. 328).]
[Footnote 86: Nachtigal, ii. 9.]
[Footnote 87: M. Audoin, _La Géographie_, xii. 308.]
[Footnote 88: Freydenberg, _La Géographie_, xv. (1907), 166.]
[Footnote 89: Tilho, _La Géographie_, xiii. 205; cf. also the map
annexed to his article.]
[Footnote 90: _La Géographie_, xii. 310.]
[Footnote 91: Nachtigal, ii, p. 357; Tilho, _La Géographie_, xiii. 204.]
[Footnote 92: Information obtained prior to this only concerns the banks
of the lake.]
[Footnote 93: D’Huart, _La Géographie_, ix. 164; M. Audoin, _idem_, xii.
318.]
[Footnote 94: Nachtigal, ii. 116 and 120. Cf. also Denham, ii. 57.]
[Footnote 95: Foureau, _D’Alger au Congo_, p. 670, and _Doc. sc._, p.
278.]
[Footnote 96: _La Géographie_, xv. 162.]
[Footnote 97: [Vid. Appendix IX and note [343].]]
[Footnote 98: Audoin, _La Géographie_, xii. 305.]
[Footnote 99: _Mitteilungen a. d. deutsch. Schutzgeb._, xviii. 339.]
[Footnote 100: Audoin, _La Géographie_, xii. 307.]
[Footnote 101: Nachtigal, ii. 359.]
[Footnote 102: _Mitteilungen a. d. deutsch. Schutzgeb._, xviii. 339.]
[Footnote 103: Barth, ii. 325; iii. 53.]
[Footnote 104: Tilho, _La Géographie_, xiii. 204.]
[Footnote 105: In February 1904 I camped at Ulugo on the southern shore
of Chad, and for days I had to use the lake water for cooking and
drinking. Although the pools, from which I took the water, were cut off
from circulation with the open water owing to thick ambach and papyrus
vegetation, yet I could not perceive the slightest taste of salt.]
[Footnote 106: _La Géographie_, xiii, no. 3.]
[Footnote 107: Denham, ii. 92; Nachtigal, ii. 328; Foureau, _Doc. sc._,
ii. 665; Destenave, _La Géographie_, vii. 425.]
[Footnote 108: Cf. Nachtigal, ii. 549; Foureau, _D’Alger au Congo_, p.
712.]
[Footnote 109: Barth, iii. 241.]
[Footnote 110: Kund, as well as Dominik, indeed affirms that ‘ngaldjam’
means a rhinoceros in the Musgu language, so there may be some
misunderstanding here. _Mitteilungen a. d. deutsch. Schutzgeb._, xix.
18; Dominik, p. 239. [‘Ngaljam’ is a Kanuri word equivalent to the Hausa
‘faddama’, meaning a shallow water-course.—P. A. B.]]
[Footnote 111: Stieber, _Kolonialblatt_, xvi. Jahrg., p. 83.]
[Footnote 112: Cf. plate, Dominik, p. 188.]
[Footnote 113: Stieber, _Kolonialblatt_, xvi. Jahrg., p. 117.]
[Footnote 114: Lenfant, _La grande route du Tchad_, chap. vi, viii.]
[Footnote 115: _Mitteilungen a. d. deutsch. Schutzgeb._, xviii. 342.]
[Footnote 116: Cf. Rohlfs, ii. 66 and 72.]
[Footnote 117: Nachtigal gives the length as about 600 kilometres.
Nachtigal, ii. 353.]
IV
CLIMATE
Climatically, as well as geographically, Bornu belongs completely to the
tropic zone; although cut off from the warmth of the Equator, its
average temperature throughout the year of 29° to 30° centigrade makes
it not only one of the hottest countries in Africa, but even of the
whole world.[118] Though the climate of Bornu may on the whole be called
regular, considerable fluctuations in temperature nevertheless take
place, as is proved by the records of the last sixty years.
Of all the travellers who have spent any length of time in Bornu, the
only observations that extend over a detailed period are those of Barth
and Nachtigal; moreover, those of later travellers, which embrace a few
months at the most, in the main and on the whole, in so far as they are
not of small value, confirm the former results. Barth’s observations
have the advantage of extending over several years, of embracing all
parts of the country which he personally visited, and of having been
manifestly taken at places whose situation could not influence the
result one way or other. But their reliability is somewhat prejudiced by
the fact that the necessary thermometrical readings are sometimes
discontinued for weeks at a time, and were resumed on odd days at quite
different times. These irregularities happen to be of especial
importance in the thermometrical readings, which were taken after midday
or during the afternoon, when according to experience quite considerable
increases of temperature may occur in a short time. Owing to the fact
that the traveller, especially at the beginning of his journey, was not
always in a position to be able to take observations during the hottest
part of the day, many high maximum temperatures no doubt escaped him.
Barth himself was well aware of the insufficiency of his data, for he
refers to them throughout only as ‘Fragments of a Meteorological
Register’.
Nachtigal’s observations are extraordinarily conscientious and arranged
with greater regularity and include also barometrical readings. But they
extend, as far as Bornu is concerned, only over seven months and omit
precisely the period when the highest temperatures occur. Moreover, the
place where the observations were taken, viz. the court-yard of
Nachtigal’s house in Kuka, was such that it must have influenced at any
rate the thermometrical readings. Inside the walls of the town, daily
baking in the sun, the nightly radiation from the soil does not nearly
reach the same intensity as in the open plain; this is strikingly
apparent in Nachtigal’s thermometrical readings. There is an absence
throughout the winter months of the low temperatures, shortly before or
after sunrise, which have struck every one travelling in Bornu at this
season.[119] Moreover it is not to be forgotten that the shade-tree,
under which Nachtigal took his observations, influenced the result both
of the maximum and minimum readings.[120]
The table given below makes it apparent that April, with an average
temperature of 34° centigrade, is the hottest month of the year and
December the coldest; further, that the chief rainy months, July,
August, and September, show the least fluctuations in daily temperature,
while the coolest months, November, December, and January, show the
greatest. The reasons are not far to seek, they depend on the position
of the sun together with the degree of intensity of its rays resulting
from its position. At the end of March the sun approaches its zenith for
the first time—i.e. as regards Central Bornu—the atmosphere begins to be
saturated with moisture and this lessens the fall of temperature at
night, which becomes still less marked in April, in which month prevails
the most oppressive heat, not yet mitigated by the rains.[121] The first
tornadoes now set in, and become more and more frequent, while their
ever-increasing volume lessens the nightly fall of temperature, though
it affects the daily temperature in the opposite direction, so that the
daily fluctuation of temperature in July and August only reaches 9°. At
the beginning of the month of October the tornadoes cease, and
consequently there is an ever-increasing rise of temperature to
correspond, which, however, very soon drops in the following months.
[Approx. avg.: Approximate average reckoned from the observations of
both (an addition of 3° Centigrade should be made to the temperature
recorded by Barth at midday from May to August).
Mon. avg.: Monthly Average.
Avg. snr.: Average of readings at sunrise.;
Avg. 2 p.m.: Average of readings at 2 p.m.;
Hst. fl.: Highest fluctuation in daily temperature.
Avg. 12-1 p.m.: Average of readings from 12-1 p.m.
Avg. 1-2.30 p.m.: Average of readings from 1-2.30 p.m.]
+------+------------------+------------------------+-------------+----+
| | Nachtigal’s | Barth’s Observations. | | |
| | Observations. | Degrees in Centigrade. | | |
| | Degrees in | (Those given in | Approx. avg.| |
| | Centigrade. | Fahrenheit reduced | |Mon.|
|Month.| | to Centigrade.) | |avg.|
| +-----+------+-----+-----+-----+------+-----+------+------+ |
| |Avg. | Avg. |Hst. |Avg. |Avg. | Avg. |Hst. | Avg. | Avg. | |
| |snr. |2 p.m.| fl. |snr. |12-1 |1-2.30| fl. | snr. |1-2.30| |
| | | | | |p.m. | p.m. | | | p.m. | |
+------+-----+------+-----+-----+-----+------+-----+------+------+----+
|Jan |18·9 | 30 |16·2 | 15 | 35 |33 (?)| 24 | 17 | 32 |24·5|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|Feb | 19 | 30·2 |16·1 | 15 | 31 | 35 | 19 | 17 | 33 | 25 |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|Mar | | | | 21 | 37 | 36 | 16 | 21 | 36 |28·5|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|Apr | | | | 25 | 37 | 43 | 18 | 25 | 43 | 34 |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|May | | | | 23 | 40 | | 17 | 23 | 43 | 33 |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|Jun | | | | 24 | 37 | | 20 | 24 | 40 | 32 |
| | | | | | | | (?) | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|Jul | | | | 24 | 31 | | 9 | 24 | 34 | 29 |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|Aug |23·3 | 29·3 | 9·2 | 22 | 30 | | | 23 | 31 | 27 |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|Sep |24·1 | 31·4 |10·8 | 22 | 31 | 36 | 11 | 23 | 34 |28·5|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|Oct |24·5 | 35·5 |16·1 | 24 | | 36 | 15 | 24 | 36 | 30 |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|Nov | 20 | 33 |16·5 | 16 | | 32 | 27 | 18 | 32 | 25 |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|Dec |18·5 | 30·4 |16·3 | 12 | | 31 | 26 | 15 | 31 | 23 |
+------+-----+------+-----+-----+-----+------+-----+------+------+ |
| Yearly average of temperature measured at | | | |
| sunrise and at 2 p.m. | 21 | 35 | |
+--------------------------------------------------+------+------+----+
| Total yearly average | 28°|
+----------------------------------------------------------------+----+
Naturally the conditions for the northern and southern parts of Bornu
vary somewhat, and local circumstances may also cause quite considerable
fluctuations of temperature. Thus I noticed at Idjege in Southern Bornu,
at the beginning of October, that the granite masses thickly studded
with trees, on the slopes of which the place lies, had the result of
causing an unusual increase in heat, which close to the surface of the
soil measured 51° centigrade in the shade. While the nights here were
even oppressively hot, a few days later on the plain at Dissa, not far
from Idjege, the thermometer only showed 10° centigrade in the morning
before sunrise, and by so doing registered the lowest degree of
temperature, whose fluctuations far exceeded 30°. In general the heat
reaches its highest point about 2 p.m. and then only declines very
slowly, so that even in the evening abnormally high temperatures may be
registered,[122] in fact the interesting phenomenon may occasionally be
observed of a higher temperature at sunset than at midday.[123] If one
takes the yearly average temperature according to Barth’s and
Nachtigal’s tables, one cannot but notice that Nachtigal’s tables leave
out of consideration just the hottest months. Having regard to this
circumstance, one may reckon without much inaccuracy the yearly average
temperature at from 29° to 30° centigrade.[124]
With regard to the second most important factor in the climate, viz. the
winds, there exist no such detailed observations as with regard to the
temperature; still the facts communicated on this subject by Nachtigal
and recent French explorers, especially Foureau,[125] are sufficient to
show that just as the atmospheric pressure is extremely regular so
likewise are the winds. During the greatest part of the year, under the
influence of the north-east trade-wind, north-easterly or easterly winds
predominate, but south of 12° north latitude, where the wind comes
mostly from the south with a decided inclination towards the south-
east,[126] it is less constant, a fact which Foureau attributes to the
counter-influence of the south-east trade-wind which reaches as far as
here.[127] According to the universal verdict of all observers, easterly
and north-easterly winds predominate especially in the dry weather,
while in the rains, especially in July and August, westerly winds gain
the upper hand, only to surrender their predominance to the easterly
winds in October.
Views as to the daily fluctuation in the strength and direction of the
wind appear to vary. Unfortunately Nachtigal’s tables[128] do not inform
us whether observations with regard to the wind were taken also at
night-time. The French naval officer Audoin, who personally took
observations of this sort on Lake Chad, where the conduct of the watery
plain is bound to give indications conformable to every movement of the
wind, lays stress on the predominance of the north-east wind, especially
from 11 p.m. to 9 a.m., while it is replaced by the south-west wind for
the rest of the day.[129] The north-east trade-wind brings with it from
the Sahara a great volume of dust, which often renders the atmosphere so
opaque that the sun only appears through it like a dark-red disk. This
phenomenon, which causes a peculiarly oppressive sensation,[130] is
known throughout the whole of Western Tropical Africa under the name of
Harmattan, but is especially characteristic of the Central Sudan.
Apart from the violent atmospheric disturbances which the tropical
thunderstorms bring with them, the cyclones or tornadoes, coming
sometimes from the south-east, sometimes from the north-east or south-
west, especially during the times of the change in the wind, affect
Bornu as well as the whole tropical district of the Western and Central
Sudan.
In Bornu, where over wide stretches of country the weakening effect of
dense forests is lacking, they attain an unparalleled violence. They
give notice from afar of their arrival by thick clouds and whirling
dust, and sweep everything off the earth that has not been made trim and
taut. Sometimes cornfields which have been overtaken by them look as if
a roller had passed over them. During the autumn of 1903 the roofs of
the houses at Dikoa were blown off by a violent tornado. In general the
cyclones are not preceded by discharges of electricity, but there are
exceptions to this rule.
The tornadoes may be matched in violence by the thunderstorms which
occur in Bornu. As is often the case in the tropics, they are heralded
beforehand by the discharge of a large amount of electricity, a
phenomenon which it is especially fine to observe at night, when the
lightning flashes following each other uninterruptedly render it
possible to read a book.[131]
Whilst on the subject of hydrometry, the question of cloud formation has
next to be considered. The sky in Bornu, quite apart from the Harmattan,
is very seldom quite clear; it is only in winter that there may be
several successive days free from clouds; at other times ‘cirrus’ clouds
at any rate are perceptible. The most wonderful cloud formations can be
observed at the transition period shortly before the bursting of a
thunderstorm. The results are analogous to those prevailing in Europe
under similar circumstances; only in the Central Sudan the ‘cumulus’
formations differ in being grander, and they discharge themselves more
quickly.
Fogs occur, but they are chiefly confined to the cooler parts of the
year, and usually, as in northern latitudes, are connected with the
presence of swampy districts, such as the damp low-lying shores of Chad.
Besides it would be difficult, especially in the cooler morning hours,
to distinguish sharply between fog and Harmattan.
Bornu lies exactly in the zone of the tropical summer rains, whose
northerly boundary, naturally not to be sharply defined, coincides
roughly with the fifteenth parallel of latitude, and thus includes also
the most southerly part of the Sahara.[132] The moisture that falls
there is only in the form of dew and rain. The mountains which border
the country are not high enough to favour the formation of hail, which,
however, is often enough to be seen in the neighbouring highlands of
Central Adamawa and the grass-lands of the Kameruns that lie to the
south of them. Dew appears—though only seldom—chiefly in September,
October, and March; but then usually in profuse volume. Thus Denham in
March and Barth in September experienced a quite extraordinarily heavy
dew on the banks of Lake Chad, which they thought worthy of particular
mention.[133]
The weather conditions accompanying the beginning or end of the rains
usually occur with great regularity in Bornu. In this respect the
country shows the typical Sudan climate, which is generally entirely
without rain during the months of November, December, January, and
February. The only noteworthy exception appears to be the actual borders
of Chad. On the evening of the 22nd of January, an unusually cool day,
and on the following morning, in the immediate vicinity of Chad, Foureau
notes violent showers of rain, which were preceded in the afternoon by
slight showers with some thunder and lightning.[134]
The rainfall is influenced in two different ways by the mountains on the
southern border. Firstly, the volume of rain that falls here—though
proper measurements of it have hitherto not been forthcoming—appears to
be more intense than in the plains; and, secondly, the rains here set in
earlier and do not end till later.[135] A greater or lesser distance
from the Equator operates in a similar way. For the further south one
goes, the longer is the duration of the rainy season and the greater the
volume of the rainfall.
Apart from the above-mentioned exceptions, the first drops of rain do
not fall in Bornu before the end of March. The downpour is heaviest in
July and August. Though many of the tornadoes are extraordinarily severe
and long-continued, yet the rain never lasts without intermission for a
whole day or even a week, as it may do in the primaeval forest region of
the Kameruns.[136]
In spite of the low rainfall as compared with that of Adamawa, which
lies to the south of it, the climate of Bornu, except in the dry
weather, thanks to its low-lying marshes, is distinctly unhealthy.[137]
Besides the diseases, such as dysentery, which appear at all times of
the year, malaria and its attendant evils are chiefly prevalent during
the rainy and equinoctial seasons; Europeans especially are subject to
it to an unusual extent, as are also the Arabs and Berbers accustomed to
the healthy climate of the desert.[138] But even the natives are not
entirely exempt from such diseases, which may assume the form of
devastating epidemics.[139] The only part free from fever seems to be
the uninhabited belt of marshy vegetation round Lake Chad, because
infection from man to man is here impossible, although there are clouds
of mosquitoes ready to convey the germs of the disease. On the same
grounds the larger towns, which scorn all sanitary regulations, are the
worst centres of disease. The irritant microbe which lives in the
anopheles mosquito is paralysed at a temperature below 17° centigrade,
and consequently dies during the cold nights of the dry weather, in the
event of its host not spending the night in the warmth of a house.
The rainy season in Bornu is dreaded by the Berbers or Tripoli Arabs not
only on account of the danger to their own health, but the condition
also of the pack-camels bred in the Sahara is influenced very
unfavourably by it, in fact it sometimes causes great mortality amongst
them, so that the caravans, whenever they can, leave the country at the
beginning of the damp weather.[140] It is not yet certain whether the
camels fall victims to the same disease from which the animals bred in
Bornu, horses and especially oxen, have to suffer. Inquiries into the
question of whether it is spread in the form of a contagious disease
like trypanosomiasis—the disease whose germ is conveyed by the tse-tse
fly—have not yet been published, but at any rate myriads of flies
belonging to the ‘Glossina’ species are to be found in the neighbourhood
of the water-courses fringed with trees and bushes.
It is obvious that the moist heat of the rainy season is favourable to
the growth of all kinds of sickness. Besides venereal disorders,
malignant eye-diseases are very common, and, owing to the indolence of
the natives, find every chance of being spread abroad; leprosy is by no
means unknown.[141] One of the commonest evils is that caused by the
guinea-worm, a skin-disease which, though not dangerous, is protracted;
the worm enters the body through the use of unboiled water from puddles,
water-courses, and even from wells, and almost every native has been
attacked by it at some time during his life.[142] Cleanliness and the
scrupulous observance of simple rules of health, including especially
regular bodily exercise, afford, however, far-reaching protection
against all these diseases, not excluding malaria itself, so that at any
rate Europeans can secure themselves in some degree against sickness.
All these districts are at all events far from being so unhealthy as the
region of the West African primaeval forest, where the germ-destroying
effect of the sun’s rays seldom penetrates.
[Footnote 118: Barth, to whom the conditions of temperature at Massawa
were not yet known, even asserts that ‘the average summer temperature of
Kukawa exceeds that of any other place on earth’. Barth, iv. 12. [To
bring degrees centigrade to degrees Fahrenheit multiply by 9 and divide
by 5 and add 32.]]
[Footnote 119: Cf. Barth, iv. 12, where Barth refers to ‘the coldest
night of his whole journey’, and mentions that the temperature shortly
before sunrise was only 4·5° centigrade above freezing-point. The Yola-
Chad Boundary Commission repeatedly experienced similar cold nights in
the winter of 1903-4, and the native carriers suffered severely from
them.]
[Footnote 120: Certain trees, e.g. the sappy _Candelabria-Euphorbia_,
exhibit in their shade a temperature differing some three or four
degrees from that of their surroundings. I can testify that this was so
at Madagali, in the Mandara highlands, where my tent was pitched under a
very large _Euphorbia_. The temperature in the open tent, on the
contrary, did not differ from that outside.]
[Footnote 121: At the end of this month Barth registered 45° centigrade
in Bornu. Barth, v. 406.]
[Footnote 122: In the very south of Bornu Stieber was able in March to
observe temperatures which dropped from 45° centigrade at 8 p.m. to 30°
centigrade. _Kolonialblatt_, XVI. Jahrgang, p. 88. Cf. also Denham, i.
150.]
[Footnote 123: Barth, iii. 625. On April 12 at 1.30 p.m. the thermometer
stood at 35° centigrade, at sunset it was 37·3° centigrade.]
[Footnote 124: [Vid. Appendix VIII.]]
[Footnote 125: _Doc. sc._, i. 128.]
[Footnote 126: [Vid. Appendix VIII.]]
[Footnote 127: _Doc. sc._, p. 81.]
[Footnote 128: Nachtigal, ii. 766.]
[Footnote 129: _La Géographie_, vii. 317.]
[Footnote 130: [On the contrary, most people find the Harmattan tonicky
and exhilarating. Cf. article by Seefried in ‘M. Deutsch. Schutzgeb,’ 26
(1913) 9-12].]
[Footnote 131: Other electrical appearances connected with thunderstorms
have not yet been observed, but Lenfant mentions seeing the Zodiacal
Lights for several days in the winter. Lenfant, p. 285.]
[Footnote 132: Nachtigal, i. 558; ii. 193 and 315.]
[Footnote 133: Denham, i. 120; Barth, iii. 23 (German edition).]
[Footnote 134: Foureau, _D’Alger au Congo_, p. 622, and _Doc. sc._, i.
133. I can myself confirm that rain occurs on Chad at this time of the
year, for on a ride from Maduari to Kukawa on the very cool morning of
January 15, 1904, I travelled for a short distance in a tornado.]
[Footnote 135: Cf. Rohlfs, ii. 14.]
[Footnote 136: [For rainfall in British Bornu vide Appendix VIII.]]
[Footnote 137: [Bornu is one of the healthiest Provinces of Nigeria.]]
[Footnote 138: Cf. _idem_, ii. 89.]
[Footnote 139: Nachtigal, i. 733; cf. also ii. 488.]
[Footnote 140: Denham notices the insalubrity which accompanies the
rains with the words: ‘All the quadrupeds, as well as bipeds,
transplanted from the countries bordering upon the great ocean appeared
to suffer alike,’ i. 264; cf. also Nachtigal, i. 681.]
[Footnote 141: [Lepers in British Bornu are now concentrated in two
leper-camps under the supervision of the Government Medical Officers.
Average numbers in Maiduguri leper-camp 950, in Geidam 120. They are
housed, fed, and clothed by the Beit-el-Mal (Native Treasury). These
figures do not include the pagan districts.]]
[Footnote 142: [Intestinal worms are also very common, especially among
the cattle-owning Shuwas.]]
V
FLORA
The flora of Bornu corresponds exactly to the geological formation and
climatic conditions of the country.[143] The usual appearance of the
country is that of a tree-covered steppe, which extends south of the
border-line of the regular summer rains over the vast plains of the
interior of Africa from somewhat north of 8° of north latitude, from
Senegal to Cape Guardafui, east of the great Central African lake and
reaching southwards as far as South-East Africa. The character of this
steppe is dependent on the predominance of deciduous plants, mostly
belonging to the order of Leguminosae, and of many thorny trees and
bushes, which very gradually give way on the borders of the country,
according to local conditions, to representatives of the flora of the
desert, of the damp tropical uplands or of the primaeval forest
district, or else are found intermingled with them. Whilst Bornu shows
in the north over a wide extent somewhat more luxuriant examples of
species belonging entirely to the flora of the desert, on its own side
also it spreads plants peculiar to itself pretty far into the south of
the Sahara, but it lacks representatives of the above-mentioned grass-
lands and primaeval forest flora owing to the predominance of evergreen
trees and the appearance of epiphytic vegetation. Nowhere in Bornu can
one find the dark-green forests with their hot-house humidity and tree-
loving ferns, orchids,[144] and begonias, with pandanacea and different
kinds of climbing calamus, with raphia- and oil-palms, which in dense
lines edge the water-courses of the grass-lands lying not much further
south. Of plants which are peculiar to such districts, the banana is
only to be found at one place in the country, and that curiously enough
is at Zinder, in the north-west corner of the country, whither it must
evidently have been introduced from outside.[145] The raphia-palm,
_Raphia vinifera_, and different varieties of paw-paw[146] first appear
on the southern edge of the Mandara mountains, which lie scattered to
the south of the tenth parallel of north latitude, and only one variety
of _Ceiba pentandra_, which is indeed stunted enough in comparison with
the specimens of giant Ceiba (_Bombax_) of the West African primaeval
forest, is to be found here and there in the neighbourhood of the water-
courses. There are indeed the trees of the Ceiba species, which, in
contradistinction to the evergreens, shed their leaves in the dry
weather—even in the primaeval forest. It appears rather strange that
none of this kind of vegetation occurs along the course of the Lower
Shari, which is always full of water, although it is plentifully
represented at the sources of that river, especially the Gribingi,[147]
and although it extends for a short distance down-stream close to the
banks. The reason of this phenomenon may perhaps be sought for in the
fact that the long and intensive dry weather of Bornu, and also of the
Lower Shari country, is not favourable to this kind of vegetation. This
is analogous to the similar phenomenon on the Upper Nile, where the
plant formation of the hot damp countries where the river rises extends
through districts which get drier and drier as one proceeds northwards,
but cannot advance at all after the latitude of Khartum.
The sole or at any rate predominant landscape as regards Bornu, so far
as it depends on the flora, is just this tree-studded steppe.[148] Even
the trees are in unison with this steppe; if they do not belong to the
prevailing species of acacia, they are at any rate of a habit in
accordance with them. They are in general low, stunted and twisted, with
deep roots and wide-spreading crowns, not higher than the trunk of a
twenty-year-old oak sapling; only along the water-courses and where a
deep layer of ‘humus’ soil exists do they reach a more considerable
height, but even in the most favourable spots they do not much exceed 25
metres. The density with which the trees are planted depends also on the
condition of the soil. Generally the trees stand in high steppe-grass at
such long intervals that their crowns hardly touch, then the landscape
reminds one of the extensive fruit-tree plantations of the north. The
better the soil is, the closer stand the trees and thus form dense wide-
spreading forests, often tangled with creepers, as for example in the
riverain district of the Lower Shari from Karnak to Lake Chad.[149] In
other places, especially on the granite slopes of the hills that jut out
into the Bornu plain, the trees occur so far apart, that the landscape
comes to show a great similarity with the slopes of the Sierra Nevada
covered with sparse ilex trees which dip down to the Rio Genil in
Southern Spain. In fact, where the true tropical trees, such as the palm
and fig species, or the strange-looking ‘kuka’ (Adansonia) are wanting,
the general impression of the flora is quite that of Northern Europe.
Often, especially in winter when the ground is covered with fallen
leaves, one can find places that at once recall the tree-bordered river
valleys of the low-lying plains of North Germany in autumn. Localities
which give a regularly tropical impression are at all events not in the
majority, and the inspired descriptions of tropical luxuriance which
Nachtigal gives on his first acquaintance with these parts, originated,
as he himself has to admit, from the impression of dissimilarity between
the Chad countries and the Sahara through which he had just
struggled.[150]
By far the largest number of characteristic trees and bushes are
naturally of such a stamp as are suited to the conditions of the
country. The arrangements designed for the preservation of species are
the thorny spikes for defence against annihilation by things that feed
on them or for protection against drought during the winter months. Most
of the trees shed their leaves in the dry weather, but those that do
not, possess a quantity of thick leathery foliage or fine feathery
leaves, succulent twigs, tendrils with tough outer fibre or thick cork-
like bark. On the shea-butter trees, _Butyrospermum Parkii_, and the
ilia-acacia, _Burkea africana_, and especially on the timber found in
Southern Bornu, this thick cork-bark is to be observed, serving at the
same time as a protection against the ‘bush’ fires.[151]
Soon after the beginning of the dry weather the high grass is quite dry,
and affords ample material for the ‘bush’ fires that now commence. The
trees and bushes, sticking out of the burnt, ash-covered soil with their
bark all charred, offer then a melancholy spectacle. This may make them
appear as if quite dead, but as a matter of fact the bark, of which only
the outer layers have been burnt, has been able to protect the sap so
well, that just before the beginning of the first rains tree and bush
put forth fresh leaves and twigs or even stand dressed in full
bloom.[152] About the beginning of January the Leguminosae begin one by
one to bloom, and shortly afterwards the other trees and shrubs follow
suit, so that the ‘bush’ is soon pervaded with an overpowering perfume.
A few species of trees form a remarkable exception, for it is just
during the rains that they are leafless and seemingly dead, yet as soon
as the rains are over they put forth new leaves and reach their greatest
luxuriance in the middle of the dry weather.
After the first tornadoes the ash-covered earth begins to cover itself
with a thick green turf, which gives the landscape a park-like
appearance, and from it spring in a few days great quantities of
variegated Ranunculaceae and lilies, followed soon afterwards by the
flowers of such trees and shrubs as have not already come into bloom.
When the flowers come into view, the season corresponds somewhat to the
spring-time of Central Europe, and a similar state of things continues
for the following months; by June or July the leaves are all fully out,
and in October, at the end of the tornado season, the latest fruits have
ripened. Among the fruit-bearing trees that grow wild are some that are
made use of by the natives; as regards the greater part of those
mentioned by European travellers as being useful, there are very various
reports. Barth, who seems to be by no means dogmatic, praises them for
the most part, but Denham expresses himself less favourably, and the
greater part of this traveller’s observations come pretty near the
truth.[153] At all events the really pleasant-tasting fruits are quite
rare in the ‘bush’.
The flora of Northern Bornu is also strongly influenced by the Sahara,
which pushes forward representatives of its own here and there far
beyond its borders. In addition to the different species of thorny
acacia, similar to each other in habitat, which after reaching a certain
age generally have umbrella-shaped crowns, and which are so generally
characteristic of all the sterile districts of Africa, the two regions
have quite a number of plants in common.[154] The two most striking,
which one meets almost everywhere, are the Zizyphus species and the
oschar, _Calotropis procera_ (called by Barth _Asclepias gigantea_). The
wide distribution of the Zizyphus species is explained by its
suitability to all kinds of soil and the usefulness to mankind of its
fruit, which is mealy tasting and slightly sweet, and for the sake of
its branches to form thornhedges as a protection against beasts of prey.
The Zizyphus is found northwards as far as the Mediterranean
countries[155] and southwards as far as the boundaries of the Sudan
climate. The two varieties principally met with in Bornu are those
called by the natives ‘Kurna’ and ‘Magalia’, _Zizyphus Jujuba_ and
_Zizyphus spina Christi_ respectively. The hardy ‘Magalia’ may take the
form of magnificent shade-trees, especially in sandy soil, and
constitute in uninhabited places thick thorny copses, which lead one to
conclude almost with certainty on the presence of former settlements.
The ‘Oschar’, far the tallest of all the Asclepiadae,[156] owes its wide
distribution to the seeds, provided with silky floating fluff,
distributed by its fruit, which is shaped like a small bladder and is
larger than a man’s fist. These plants, which are in their fullest
foliage towards the end of the dry weather, are to be found all over the
Sahara[157] in favourable localities, and form on the sand-dunes of the
south-west shore of Chad wide-spreading bushes,[158] whose grey-green
leaves give to the landscape an impression of uniformity and melancholy,
and extend from here even as far as Lagos.[159]
Of widely distributed plants belonging to the two regions in common, one
of the most remarkable is the dum-palm, _Crucifera thebaica_, the sole
representative of its genus, whose trunk is divided into several
branches. They prefer a soil that attracts the surface water, and are to
be found from the oases of the Central Sahara to far into Adamawa—though
here indeed only very scattered; some splendid examples flourish
especially at Ngornu, on the shore of Lake Chad. South of this region it
is very rare. According to Barth the fruit may be used in large
quantities for food,[160] but on the other hand the same traveller
points out that the low-growing dum-bushes are a hindrance to
agriculture.[161] In fact, between Kukawa and Ngornu one finds wide
stretches so thickly studded with the young plants of this palm which it
is so difficult to eradicate, that one is reminded of the plains of the
Mediterranean littoral overgrown with ‘chamaerops’.[162]
The date-palm also, the most characteristic tree of the Sahara, is to be
found dispersed in single examples all over Bornu, and specimens
transplanted by man may even be seen in the middle of Adamawa. But it is
seldom or never that it bears fruit in Bornu; the summer rains do not
suit it, any more than they do the camel, and it is a proof of the
desert character of certain of the sandy valleys of the neighbouring
country of Kanem, that the date-palm flourishes there in full luxuriance
and bears abundant fruit.[163]
Belonging likewise to both regions, but confined within narrower limits
and generally not extending farther south than the latitude of Kukawa,
there are certain plants found in Northern Bornu which are partly used
for the production of salt. The most striking of these is the peculiar
‘tundub’, _Capparis aphylla_ (_sodata_),[164] found in the same parts as
the dum-palm, the ‘ethel’, _Tamarix articulata_,[165] the ‘retam’,
_Retama spec_—according to Barth _Spartium junceum_[166]—the _Salvadora
persica_, and the _Asclepias leptadenia pyrotechnica_.[167] Of these
only the ‘tundub’ and the ‘retam’ are to be found widely distributed in
Bornu. The ‘tundub’ is of importance in that the ashes obtained from it
furnish the natives with salt.[168] As a salt-loving plant it is only to
be found on soil impregnated with natron, and becomes rarer as the
percentage of the mineral necessary for it to thrive decreases. It does
not seem to reach farther south than Kukawa. The ‘retam’, one of the
European species of _Spartium_ or _Ulex_, similar to the Papilionaceae,
forms on the sand-dunes south of Maduari thick bushes taller than a man,
which give to the places where they are found quite a northern
appearance owing to its genesta-like exterior.
Other kinds of trees and shrubs which belong without any doubt to the
Sudan, have nevertheless in favourable localities extended their area of
distribution far into the Sahara. Among these is the ‘hadjlidj’,
_Balanites aegyptiaca_, whose name, like that of the _Crucifera
thebaica_, indicates a very wide distribution; with its dark-green
hanging boughs it presents a very striking appearance. Its fruit, called
‘bito’ in Kanuri, plays, according to Barth, an important part as an
article of diet among the natives.[169]
It is much more difficult to define the area of distribution of the
acacias than of the other well-known species of trees, because they
resemble each other very much in all countries, and because it is only
very insufficiently established to what species they belong owing to
their great multiplicity of form. The definite classification of the
various species of acacia found in these regions, which is impossible
without the possession of an ample collection of material—at present not
yet forthcoming—would be a task well worthy of the gratitude of
botanists. But the classification is the more difficult in that each of
the numerous books of travel, while multiplying the names given by the
natives to these trees, apparently assign them to different species. It
is always possible that the natives, on whom botanical peculiarities are
naturally lost, may assign the same name to similar species. One may
therefore assume with certainty that the Arabic word ‘talha’ is a term
applied to all species of acacia that exude gum arabic.[170] By ‘talha’
are especially meant the _Acacia ferruginea_ common all over Bornu with
its little unmistakable reddish-brown trunk and branches and its dark
golden blossoms,[171] the _Acacia stenocarpa_,[172] and the _Acacia
tortilis_,[173] widely distributed in North Africa. All these species,
whose ball-shaped little blossoms make their appearance during the first
months of the year, diffuse at that time an extraordinarily strong
perfume reminding one of the violet or the heliotrope. To the finest
species, which assume with especial clearness the umbrella-like form,
belong the _Acacia arabica_, found far from here even in Aïr, and
especially the ‘gawo’, _Acacia albida_. The ‘gawo’[174] is especially
remarkable for this reason, in that it strikes one from a distance by
the complete bareness of its greyish-white branches during the rains; it
is not till October that it puts on its feathery leaves of greenish-grey
and its blossoms that remind one of willow-catkins.[175] To be found all
over Bornu and stretching far afield towards Adamawa, it reaches giant
dimensions on the banks, rich in ‘humus’, of the River Yedseram, south
of Bama.
The steppe-forest of Northern and Central Bornu[176] is composed
somewhat as follows. Scattered among the acacias, which predominate, are
the above-mentioned species of trees—to which may be added in Central
Bornu the ‘dschochan’, _Diospyrus mespiliformis_—which, however, form
isolated patches in the acacia forest whenever the condition of the soil
is suitable. The commonest of these is the ‘hadjlidj’ (_Balanites_).
Next to this the most frequent is the ‘Kargu’ or ‘Kalgo’, _Bauhinia
reticulata_, belonging to the order of Leguminosae, a shrub found as far
as Munio and Zinder,[177] which, like the _Mimosa pudica_, is remarkable
for rattling at night its large leaves shaped like an inverted heart.
This shrub appears mostly in the form of brushwood, prefers a sandy
soil, and on the summit of the dunes along the shores of Chad replaces
in some parts the Zizyphus and the _Calotropis procera_, with whom it
also enjoys a joint tenancy. It is likewise as a brushwood shrub that
the _Gardenia Thunbergia_ forms sparse bushes, whose thorny branches are
covered in the spring-time with big snow-white blossoms, which first
open towards evening and then diffuse a strong penetrating perfume. The
branches of these trees and shrubs are often intertwined with the
parasitic loranthus, whose rather large honeysuckle-like trumpet-shaped
flowers probably misled Barth and made him mistake them for
orchids.[178] The loranthus with its fleshy grey-green leaves and
hanging tendrils often forms great bushes, whose masses of foliage may
quite obscure the green of the tree it clings to. Many other creepers
attain such luxuriance that the tree they overgrow completely disappears
beneath their masses. One of the most striking is the sappy cactus-like
‘digessa’, _Cissus quadrangularis_, in which the small leaves are
inconspicuous as compared with the evergreen and peculiar four-edged
tendrils. According to Rohlfs, this plant, which is widely distributed
all over the country, is one of those from which the natives prepare
their arrow-poison.[179] Besides the _Cissus_ there is a kind of ‘luffa’
which is worthy of notice; its fungus-like fruit on its withered
tendrils attracts the attention of the traveller in the dry weather from
a long distance.
The high ant-hills in the ‘bush’ are regularly carpeted with Capparidae
such as the _Cadaba farinosa_ and _Capparis tomentosa_. The latter
especially affords a peculiar sight in winter and early spring, when its
thorny semi-creeper-like tendrils are in bloom. The blossoms, to which
are attached numerous long pollen-vessels, attract—as do the
acacias—through their strong honeysuckle-like perfume the whole flower-
loving insect world and the metallic-coloured honey-birds.
Many trees in the ‘bush’, and especially those which prefer marshy
places or the banks of streams, are inclined to isolate themselves and
so form splendid clumps, solitary and circular, that give the landscape
quite a park-like appearance. To this category belongs especially the
tamarind, _Tamarindus indica_—in spite of its name indigenous to
Africa—which does not shed its dark-green feathery leaves even in the
dry weather and puts forth its orchid-shaped flowers in the winter. Its
fruit serves many medicinal purposes and when pounded in water makes a
refreshing beverage. Even commoner than the tamarind are the various
species of evergreen fig which Bornu harbours, each in individual
isolation; such isolation is grounded in their very nature. Though of
great variety in the form and size of their leaves, they all show in
their habits the same characteristics. Similar to its Indian relative,
the banyan, in the early stages of its growth it takes the form of a
semi-parasitic creeper, which shows a distinctly astonishing inclination
towards a spread both of roots and branches. Soon after it has
surrounded the tree that serves it as host with a many-meshed net, the
latter perishes; the inextricable tangle of wood forms a single trunk,
which, as branch and bough keep on sending out new roots, finally
supports of itself the giant arbour-like roof of foliage, composed of
the countless roots both thick and thin that in their turn struggle
earthwards. The milk-like sap of all these species exhibits in a dried-
up condition more or less of the elastic properties of caoutchouc; the
fruit of some species are edible. One large species, known in Bornu as
‘ngabore’,[180] with poplar-like blackish-green leaves, reaches
especially at Ulugo and other places on the south shore of Chad a height
of over twenty metres and surpasses all other shade-trees owing to its
density of foliage. Owing to its dark colouring it stands out sharply
defined from everything else during the dry weather and forms a striking
contrast to the uniform muddy grey of the villages. Of much less compact
shape is the equally widely distributed Bignoniaceae, _Kigelia pinnata_,
which is found as far as Kanem,[181] and to which the much-travelled
Hausas have assigned the name of ‘nono-n-giwa’ (that is to say,
elephant’s udders) on account of its sausage-like fruit, which is over a
foot long and hangs from a long stalk. It is very commonly found in the
middle of the towns. The walnut-like leaf of this tree also lasts
through the dry weather, during which appear its straggling dark-red
clusters of blossom.
The ‘bush’ in Northern and Central Bornu differs in one respect from
that of the southernly districts, in that the grasses which cover the
soil do not there reach the same great height; in sandy places the low-
growing prickly grasses called ‘ngibbi’, _Cenchrus echinatus_ and
_Pennisetum dichotomum_, predominate, of whose notorious seed-grains
Denham remarks: ‘These prickles may be considered one of the pests of
the country.’[182] The unpleasant burr-like adhesive seed-grains of
these grasses cling fast everywhere and are a regular plague both to man
and beast—in fact, the latter’s hair is often thickly matted with them.
Owing to the easy way in which these noxious weeds are spread, they at
present flourish all over the Sudan, wherever they are not kept under by
other plants. It is astonishing how the Bornu horses are able to eat the
_Pennisetum dichotomum_ without any ill results, nay, Barth goes so far
as to say that they will not thrive without it.[183]
The Graminae flora are always predominant also in the undergrowth, for
the herbaceous flowering plants only make their presence felt during the
spring. Frequently the often magnificent flowers appear long before the
leaves, and are either stalkless like those of a large Zingiberaceae, or
else push their heads only a little above the surface of the soil like
those of the strange _Amorphophallus_ species and other Araceae. To one
of these families perhaps belongs the bulbous plant eaten by the natives
and mentioned both by Barth and Rohlfs, under the name of ‘Katakirri’ or
‘Gadagér’, as being found in Southern Bornu.[184]
In the districts in which the ‘bush’ consists chiefly of elements which
belong also to the Southern Sahara, it experiences in places
interruptions of quite foreign appearance, namely, from the flora of the
shores of Lake Chad and from the desolate ‘firki’ flats.
Peculiar to the shores of Chad is the total absence of trees. This is
only to be explained by the great irregularity of the water-level of the
lake, which must be extremely unsuitable for steady yearly growth:
during the long-enduring inundations, which put everything under water a
yard deep for months at a time, those trees are bound to decay which
cannot thrive except in a position which is normally dry. On the other
hand, trees whose roots demand a copious supply of water, suffer from a
year-long drought and find no compensation in the downpour, abundant as
it is, of the short rainy season for the absence of water springing from
below.
The places where trees grow—especially on the west and south shores of
Lake Chad—mark the boundary of a zone of marsh vegetation poor in
species but nevertheless interesting. Besides the high grasses and the
_Mimosa pudica_, which is ubiquitous wherever there is water, there is
usually nothing but the papyrus and the ‘ambatsch’ or ‘marria’,[185]
_Aeschynomene (Herminiera) elaphroxylon_, both of them plants which,
owing to their simultaneous appearance in the ‘sudd’ of the Upper Nile,
seem to point to an earlier connexion at some time between the two
districts. The papyrus, which is also found in the brackish lakes of the
Munio country,[186] reaches in the swampy thickets of Chad the
considerable height of four metres, but it is overtopped by the
‘ambatsch’. As its name (_elaphroxylon_) indicates, the latter is of
unusually rapid growth—in fact, one gets the impression that the stem of
this giant plant, which is as straight as an arrow and often as thick as
a man’s leg, reaches its full height inside of a single year. As soon as
the water recedes from any place for any length of time the ‘ambatsch’
dies, and then the shore is covered far and wide with the dead trunks
overlaid with green creeping plants. The wood, when quite dry, has an
elder-like pith, but is nevertheless comparatively durable and
extraordinarily light—a log as thick as a man’s leg, and some seven
metres long, hardly exceeds one kilogram in weight—and is put to various
uses by the inhabitants of the shores and islands of Lake Chad. The
‘ambatsch’ as well as the papyrus, standing in some places a yard deep
in water, is generally thickly covered with the tendrils of a luxuriant
kind of _Ipomoea_, whose big purple trumpet-shaped flowers, mingled with
the golden-yellow butterfly blossoms of the ‘ambatsch’, at any rate
enliven what is otherwise a monotonous vegetation.[187]
Although the marshy district on the shore of Chad is favourable to
certain kinds of vegetation, yet the ‘firki’ flats appear to be without
any plant growth whatever, and thus give the landscape a rather
extraordinary appearance of melancholy. Although the ‘firki’ flats are,
in the rainy season at any rate, a favourable soil for water-loving
plants, and are in their nature fertile, yet they dry up so rapidly in
the late autumn that only quickly growing plants, without being able to
come to flower, can maintain themselves as long as the layer of loam
retains its humidity; but after that cracks in the soil soon appear and
cause the roots to dry up, so that all existing vegetation must
necessarily die down. Only where there is subterraneous water or
stagnant water-courses that are able to last out the dry weather are
there acacias, which in some parts of this region so bare of trees
furnish the only fuel, and are so stripped of their branches by the
natives that with their stunted shoots they exactly resemble at first
sight the pollard willows of the north. On the pools and water-courses
that do last out the dry weather are found in places the flora, which
appear also elsewhere in Bornu, of the smaller lakes and ponds,
principally consisting of the buds of the cosmopolitan _Pistia
stratiotes_, with its lettuce-like head and two kinds of water-
lilies—the _Nymphaea lotos_ with yellowish white, and the _Nymphaea
Zanzibariensis_ with sky-blue flowers.[188]
The farther one penetrates into the ‘bush’ towards the south-west, the
south, and the south-east, the oftener do new species occur and replace
by degrees the more northernly varieties. The ‘hadjlidj’ (_Balanites_)
next disappears from the forest and the acacias are relegated to the
sterile spots; only the _Acacia albida_ remain as numerous as ever, and
appear in ever finer specimens. On the other hand, the _Anona
Senegalensis_ makes itself noticeable amongst the undergrowth with its
grey-green aromatic-smelling leaves; it is one of the few wild bushes to
produce edible fruit. ‘Gonda-n-Kura’, as the wild paw-paw is called, is
usually known by a Hausa name as opposed to the cultivated ‘gonda’, as
the _Carica papaya_ is called in the Central Sudan. Along the streams
there is found a tree with dark-grey bark and leaves, not unlike though
somewhat larger than the horse-chestnut, which it also resembles in the
shape of its strong-smelling blossoms. It is the _Vitex cuneata_,
belonging to the Verbenaceae and locally known as ‘Ngalibi’. Ink is
prepared from its bark,[189] and its black fruit is used for food. Near
it are always found other kinds of trees, whose external appearance
gives the impression of regular tropical growth. Next to it is the well-
named silk cotton tree, _Ceiba pentandra_,[190] though it is indeed far
from reaching the size of those found in the primaeval forest; in
favourable spots, however, along the river-banks where the ‘humus’ soil
is plentiful, there are specimens which cause it to stand out as one of
the tallest trees of the district. Large trees of this species were even
used by the natives of the middle Shari as places of refuge during the
slave raids.[191] The soft silky fluff of the seed capsules is used all
over Bornu as stuffing for various articles. Its relative, the _Bombax
buonopozense_, is very seldom found near the _Ceiba_; the former is a
tree which can never be overlooked, owing to its big dark-red blossoms,
which stand out at a distance against the background of its scanty
foliage.
Typical specimens of ever-increasing size now appear of the giant of the
African tropical ‘bush’, the _Adansonia digitata_, or ‘Kuka’ as the
Kanuris call it. It is, indeed, distributed all over the country,[192]
for the most part in the neighbourhood of the towns, where its fibre is
made into rope and its young leaves are valued as a vegetable; but it is
not till one gets to Southern Bornu that one meets with examples truly
characteristic of the species, the bulk of whose trunks is out of all
proportion to their height; at Issege on the Yedseram there are trees
measuring fifteen metres and over in circumference. The _Adansonia_,
like the _Ceiba_, is perfectly bare during the dry weather, but the
leaves appear with the first rains and are soon followed by the big
white flowers on their long pendent stalks. Another true native of the
tropics is the Deleb palm, _Borassus aethiopum_, which is almost
entirely absent from Northern Bornu,[193] but now sometimes singly,
sometimes in groups, vies in height with the other giant trees of the
southern districts. Its trunk, straight as an arrow but thickening to a
cigar shape in the upper half and crowned with compact fan-like leaves,
forms a most effective ornament to the landscape. The trunk furnishes an
excellent weather-proof timber, and the big fruit, of a brilliant orange
yellow, is eaten all over the country, but its somewhat acid taste does
not correspond to the expectations raised by its delicious smell, which
resembles that of a pineapple. While the Deleb palm is not found in
certain districts—often a day’s march apart—yet in other places, as in
the Musgu country on the lower Logone, it appears in great numbers and
in magnificent serried rows, generally, indeed, in the immediate
neighbourhood of the towns.[194] To the fig species of this district
belongs the tree known as ‘Ganyi’, with large leathery leaves: it owes
its name to the triangular incisions which are regularly found on its
bark, and which are caused by the natives tapping it to obtain
caoutchouc. But it is impossible that the quantities obtained of this
much sought after substance can be large, for the tree is only met with
here and there quite sporadically, especially in the denser parts of the
‘bush’ overgrown with ‘vitis’ creepers as thick as a man’s arm along the
rivers in Southern Bornu.[195]
When the ‘bush’ borders on the rivers the shrubs of the undergrowth are
thickly covered with the delicate green tendrils of the Sapindaceae,
_Cardiospermum halicacabum_, which is ubiquitous all over the Sudan.
This creeper, distinguished by its dainty leaves and bladder-like fruit,
is to be met with quite regularly on the steep banks of streams. In
places where it is possible for the river to overflow its banks, other
kinds of plants which prefer a marshy or, at any rate, a damp soil, have
established themselves, such as various shrubs of Rubiaceae belonging to
the _Sarcocephalus_ species, easily distinguishable by their white
globular blossoms.[196] The swampy ground is every now and then covered
with a thick aromatic carpet having a scent something like thyme,
composed of one of the Labiatae belonging to the _Ocimum_ species
(perhaps _Ocimum viride_?); and wherever pools are able to form, the
blue star-like flowers of the _Nymphaea Zanzibariensis_ gleam once more
together with the floating bright green buds of the inevitable _Pistia
stratiotes_.
The nearer one gets to the Bornu boundary, the richer and more various
is the flora. In the neighbourhood of the big rivers, indeed, the
character of the landscape alters but little, although even here one or
two kinds of trees appear that were hitherto unrepresented. Among these
are to be reckoned the _Celtis integrifolia_, which Chevalier mentions
on the middle Shari,[197] as well as the _Khaya senegalensis_, whose
towering trunks attain magnificent proportions on the upper Yedseram,
and furnish the finest forest scenery of this region. The _Khaya_, which
has already been rooted out over a large extent of country in West
Africa, is of importance because it furnishes part of the supply of West
African mahogany. One of the most botanically remarkable shrubs of this
district is a true willow, _Salix_, which fringes the banks of the upper
Yedseram in company with the _Mimosa pudica_, and apparently belongs to
the same species as the latter, forming regular thickets on the Benue
near Lau.
Very striking, however, is the change in the flora in the true ‘bush’,
especially in places where the first traces of granite appear. Besides
the Leguminosae, which have hitherto been absent, the Cisalpiniaceae
become prominent, forming by far the larger number of the species of
trees of this region, especially the Combretaceae, which are so
characteristic of the hill country lying to the south. Everywhere one
now meets the _Combretum_ species, the _Anogeissus leiocarpa_, and the
Terminaliae, the chief trees of the Southern Bornu ‘bush’. By far the
commonest of these is the _Terminalia Schweinfurthi_, the shape of whose
trunk and branches might easily cause it to be mistaken for a fair-sized
oak, though its big smooth-edged leaves have somehow quite a strange
look. Differing from the other low-growing shrubs owing to its maple-
like leaf is the _Sterculia tomentosa_—closely related to the ‘kola’
tree, _Sterculia acuminata_,[198] which is not found in Bornu—and also,
owing to its pronounced tendency towards cork formation, the well-known
_Burkea africana_. At first only appearing sporadically, but afterwards
in ever-increasing numbers, one now meets two trees which play an
important rôle in the Sudan, viz. the _Parkia biglobosa_ of the
Leguminosae and the _Butyrospermum (Bassia) Parkii_, or shea-butter
tree, of the Sapotaceae. With its dainty feathery leaves and the strange
shape of its blossoms, the former is an ornament of the granite hills,
the foot of which is its favourite situation. In early spring the
velvety dark blood-red blossoms, always in pairs, appear on long hanging
stalks; in shape and size they resemble a billiard ball, and are out of
all proportion to the tree’s delicate feathery leaves. From them
develop, in the course of the summer, bunches of considerable-sized pods
whose seeds form the ingredients of the ‘dadawa’ cakes, which are
relished all over the Sudan and sold in every market; they have a
nauseous smell, however, and are only digestible by a negro’s stomach.
Much more important than the _Parkia_ is the _Butyrospermum_. It is a
moderately tall tree, its bark is full of cracks, and its foliage
reminds one at a distance of that of the Spanish chestnut, or, still
more, of that of the _Mangifera indica_; it bears a fruit whose large
single kernel is akin to the mango, and produces a vegetable oil which
keeps well and is put to various uses, and which has become of ever-
increasing importance as an article of export. The fruit has a pleasant
taste resembling a date.
This district also is particularly the home of the _Candelabra
euphorbia_, known as ‘Garuru’, which in many respects resembles the
American _Cercus_ species and in shape is also like the dragon-tree of
Teneriffe; on granite soil it reaches a height of ten metres and is
crowned by extraordinarily thick foliage. These Succulenteae are
distributed all over Bornu, and are found sporadically even in the
plains, but they are never entirely absent from any of the pagan
villages, which lie at the foot or half-way down the slope of the
isolated hills, for they possess qualities which render them of great
use to the natives. Firstly, the thorn-protected branches furnish the
best imaginable live hedge, and, secondly, the milky juice that flows
from the slightest incision is one of the chief ingredients of their
arrow poison. The small yellowish-green blossoms, which differ hardly at
all from those of the European spurge, appear towards the end of the
rainy season.
The open ‘bush’ of Southern Bornu produces grasses that surpass in
height and luxuriance anything similar from more northern landscapes. In
the great Marghi Forest, east of the Yedseram, a favourite haunt of big
game, the grass—in places where the water has dried up—reaches such a
height that it covers an elephant standing erect, and only the long neck
of the giraffe reaches above it. At the flowering time the stalks, which
can hardly be avoided when marching along a narrow path, send out at the
slightest concussion clouds of yellow pollen, which is troublesome to
man and beast alike. One can understand that this grass, which itself
reaches the very tops of the _Terminalia_, does not allow other plants
to come up. Only where in damp places short-stalked grasses form natural
pastures for the game, variegated plants appear—at least, at the
beginning of the rainy season—amongst them numbers of a sort of
_Amaryllis_ with big white and purple striped flowers and beautiful tall
ground orchids, such as the lilac-blossomed _Eulophia (Lissochilus)
dilecta_ and _Lissochilus lindleyanus_, with similar clusters of golden-
yellow blossoms.
The highlands of Mandara and the scattered granite masses, which make
the landscape of Southern Bornu so attractive, form at the same time
sort of islets of flora, which show unmistakable differences from the
surrounding plain. Many remarkable kinds of plants only occur here—these
rocks are an El Dorado for the botanist—and never stray down into the
plain. It is noticeable that it is near the perennial springs, which
gush out on the slopes and at the foot of these isolated hills, that one
finds the only ferns in Bornu, mostly pretty varieties of _Adianthum_,
which, besides, are identical with those of Adamawa. But amongst the
representatives of the tree flora also many interesting species are to
be found. Thus the granite rocks north of Uba are thickly overgrown with
a species of fig-tree, the ‘Bidjage’, from which Barth says that the
natives prepare their arrow poison.[199] The ‘Bidjage’, _Ficus
populifolia_, is similar in the shape of its leaves to the ‘Ngabore’
found near Lake Chad, only it has striking light grey-green leaves, but
its qualities are certainly not more poisonous than those of any other
species of fig.
The cultivated plants of Bornu are drawn from a wider range than are the
wild ones. The majority of the former belong to species which are
cultivated all over Africa south of the tropic of Cancer, or are such as
are distributed over tropical countries throughout the world.
Of the Graminae cultivated in Bornu for grain by far the most important
are the _Andropogon_ species (_Sorghum holcus_) and the bulrush-headed
millet, _Pennisetum_ (_Penicillaria_), with their different varieties.
In comparison with them all other kinds of grain play a quite
subordinate rôle—at least at present. For the cultivation of the
_Andropogon_ species on the one hand, and of the _Pennisetum_ species on
the other, Barth assumes, and Nachtigal also lays down certain
boundaries depending on the composition of the soil.[200] But this
assumption is not to be taken literally, for, especially in view of the
continuous shifting of population, the area of distribution of the
grain-stuffs has likewise been shifted in the last few decades.
The best known _Pennisetum_ is the ‘Dukhn’, _Pennisetum spicatum_
(_typhoideum_) with bulrush-like heads, which is excellently suited for
cultivation in the sandy plains of Bornu. Sown at the beginning of the
rainy season, the ‘Dukhn’ only takes two months to reach full maturity.
The grain grown on the finer and moister land is the ‘Durrha’,
_Andropogon sorghum_—called in Bornu ‘Ngafeli’—which is distributed over
the whole of tropical Africa and part of southerly subtropical Africa
and over wide districts in Asia; it is sown at the same time as ‘Dukhn’,
but ripens about a week later than the latter.[201] Besides the ‘Durrha’
itself two varieties are cultivated, the ‘Sabadu’,[202] _Andropogon
saccharatum_, and above all the ‘Massakwa’, _Andropogon cernuum_, a
grain which is grown in water, and which, sown towards the end of the
rainy season on swampy soil, is transplanted after fourteen days at
slight distances apart, and after only ten or twelve weeks with the help
of the heavy dews is ready to cut.[203]
The grain which has its proper home in this region, the wild rice,
_Oryza punctata_, is little valued; it grows wild in the swampy plains,
exposed to floods in the rainy season, between the Shari and the Mandara
highlands,[204] forms there the chief food of the elephant, but is also
gathered by the poorer classes of the population. Rice is also always
cultivated here and there in small quantities, as, for example, on the
southern shores of Chad.
Somewhat more commonly one meets with plantations of maize, _Zea
Mays_,[205] which is often cultivated in well-watered parts of Bornu
which have a fertile soil rich in mould;[206] on the other hand, the
European cereals, barley and wheat, are very seldom grown and then only
with artificial irrigation and as a dry weather crop.[207] The three
last-named kinds of grain are regarded solely as delicacies and are
scarcely to be considered as forming part of the people’s food-stuffs.
Similarly tubers are only partly acclimatized in Bornu and are only
cultivated sporadically.
The tubers consist of the following: _Colocasia antiquorum_, _Dioscorea
batatas_, _Manihot utilissima_, and _Ipomoea batatas_, all lately
introduced for the first time and gradually imported into Bornu from the
south. From the north the onion has been brought into the country by the
Arabs. It grows excellently on the banks of Chad and reaches an
extraordinary size. But there are at any rate some plants long
established in Bornu which are cultivated as vegetables, such as the
‘Karass’, _Hibiscus esculentus_, whose pods furnish a slimy but
pleasant-tasting vegetable. The mallow, allied in habits to that grown
in the peasant gardens of Central Europe, and with flowers similar to
those of the cotton-plant, which is likewise its relative, is to be
found in almost all the villages of Bornu. Indigenous likewise to the
Sudan is the giant pumpkin, _Cucurbita pepo_—or _Cucurbita maxima_
according to Barth[208]—which thrives everywhere and often covers the
houses with thick tendrils and in the flooded districts of Lake Chad
stretches over vast areas, which in the dry weather one can distinguish
even at a distance by the big white gourds. Sesame[209] also, _Sesamum
indicum_, equally esteemed both as a vegetable and as an oil-producing
plant, has long been cultivated in Bornu; its thimble-shaped white or
red flowers are regularly to be found in the neighbourhood of the
villages. A more debatable question is the origin of the two varieties
of ground-nut which are distributed over almost the whole of tropical
Africa; their scientific names are _Arachis hypogaea_ and _Voandzeia
subterranea_, and they are widely cultivated both as vegetables and for
the production of oil; the fact that each has a name of its own in all
the languages of the country, argues that they found an entrance into
the very centre of the Sudan at least a long time ago. Of true pod-
bearing plants two are cultivated in many places, a bean, the
_Phaseolus_, and a variety of _Dolichos_.[210] From Asia have doubtless
come the tomato, _Solanum lycopersicum_, and the cress, _Lepidium
sativum_,[211] which are both grown in the gardens of Central Bornu.
Besides these quite a number of wild plants furnish both vegetables and
fruit. Bornu is extraordinarily poor in trees or bushes that are
cultivated for the sake of their fruit. The only fruit-tree of this kind
really worth mentioning is the paw-paw,[212] _Carica papaya_, which,
however, does not extend to the northern parts of Bornu. The
Aurantiaceae fruit-trees, which are so widely distributed elsewhere in
similar tropical and subtropical countries, are only represented by a
few scattered lime-trees—obviously introduced by the Arabs from the
North—in the gardens of the bigger towns of North and Central Bornu,
such as Zinder, Kukawa, and Dikoa.[213] It is equally seldom that one
meets with true spice-plants in Bornu. It is not till one gets to the
southern districts that one finds that the capsicum-pepper, imported
from Adamawa, has here and there obtained a firm footing.
The predilection of the natives for narcotics, some of which are hardly
ever found growing in the country, while others on the contrary are
extensively cultivated, is an argument that the former were first
introduced, while the latter had already long belonged to the Central
Sudan, very probably even at the time of the discovery of America.[214]
The most important, in fact almost the only narcotic cultivated in
Bornu, is tobacco, which is grown everywhere—especially in dried-up
sandy river-beds—but above all in Musgu country.[215] From the proofs
which he adduces there is more than usual to be said for Barth’s view
that the species of tobacco grown there is indigenous to that region.
With much more justice might it be contested that those plants were
indigenous in Bornu, for which there might be adduced the possibility of
introduction from the East contemporaneously with the extension of
Islam. To these belong indigo, _Indigofera tinctoria_, cultivated for
the production of dye, and henna, _Lawsonia inermis_. The former is
grown especially in the southern districts for the production of the
indispensable dye for dyeing blue cloths; henna, used for dyeing the
finger-nails red, is grown in smaller quantities in all Mohammedan
districts of Bornu.
With regard to cotton, by far the most important and almost the only
cultivated plant applied in Bornu to textile uses,[216] it is certain
that it was not brought to the Central Sudan from the New World, even if
one regards it as an immigrant. Rohlfs expresses himself as follows
about cotton: ‘It is quite certain that the cotton-shrub is to be
regarded as a plant indigenous to Africa; at least, this theory is
supported by its wide distribution over the African continent, as well
as by the abundance of words for cotton which are to be found in all the
negro kingdoms. The word ‘Kalkutta’, which the Kanuris use, appears to
be derived from the Arabic in the same way as the German ‘Kattun’ (and
the English ‘cotton’).[217] Barth also mentions that in the time of
Edriss Aloma cotton was already cultivated in the Sudan,[218] at a time,
too, when its introduction from America was at least very unlikely. The
cotton cultivated in Bornu and Adamawa is the perennial variety
classified by Passarge[219] as _Gossypium arboreum_, which in many
places, such as Ngornu on the shores of Chad, reaches a height of over
two metres. It is cultivated in Bornu wherever the influence of Islam
prevails and where the majority of the people wear clothes.[220] Its
favourite situation is the banks of rivers rich in mould and not too
much exposed to floods and the vicinity of loamy low-lying ground
strongly impregnated with sand.
Amongst other plants of importance which are grown for industrial
purposes is the _Cucurbita_ species, from which are manufactured by far
the largest number of household vessels except those used for cooking.
Besides the well-known _Cucurbita pepo_, which not only furnishes
calabashes but also serves for the manufacture of floats, there is also
the bottle-gourd, _Lagenaria vulgaris_, particularly trained as a
creeper on houses or fences. Its fruit is of very many different shapes
and this has led to different designations of the plant; however, it is
merely one and the same species assuming various forms.
[Footnote 143: The names cited below are mostly taken from the
specifications of a small collection of characteristic plants which I
brought back with me from the Chad countries, and which were kindly
identified for me by Professor Dr. Volkens. Other names are mostly to be
found in Nachtigal, i. 554, and ii. 383; Passarge, p. 536; Foureau,
_Doc. sc._, i. 391.]
[Footnote 144: In certain favourable places in Abyssinia, which is in
about the same latitude as Bornu, Heuglin often met with a profusion of
epiphytic orchids, the most characteristic plant of damp tropical
regions. In Bornu one would seek such things in vain; they are not to be
found even along the water-courses. Heuglin, _Reise nach Abessinien_,
pp. 386 and 397.]
[Footnote 145: Foureau, _Doc. sc._, i. 452.]
[Footnote 146: [Paw-paws have been introduced into some of the larger
towns in British Bornu, but do not flourish. From the ‘raphia’ comes
piassava fibre.]]
[Footnote 147: Foureau, _D’Alger au Congo_, p. 771, and _Doc. sc._, i.
456 and 545; and Chevalier, _La Géographie_, ix (1904), p. 351, where
_Coffea excelsa_ is also mentioned.]
[Footnote 148: Rohlfs asserts that there is a great ‘mimosa-forest’,
i.e. a forest of trees of the acacia species, which passes north of
Kukawa and appears to ‘extend like a ribbon, in many places four or five
days’ journey broad, right across the African continent from the West
Coast to the Red Sea’. Rohlfs, ii. 285.]
[Footnote 149: Lenfant, p. 152.]
[Footnote 150: Nachtigal, i. 558.]
[Footnote 151: Cf. Foureau, _D’Alger au Congo_, p. 576, where it is said
that ‘the bark at the base of the trees is always thickened somewhat as
a consequence of the frequency of these fires; it becomes wrinkled and
thick like cork, and forms as it were a sort of protective cuirass for
the trees’.]
[Footnote 152: It appears therefore that, as a matter of fact, the bush
fires can do no great damage to the trees and shrubs. On the other hand,
Chudeau asserts that the salt industry, which uses up a great deal of
fire-wood, has absolutely denuded some parts of North-West Bornu of
timber. _La Géographie_, xv (1907), p. 332.]
[Footnote 153: Denham, ii. 143, where the traveller says: ‘Not a fruit
of any description can be found in the whole kingdom.’ [This is an
exaggeration. Fruit is very scarce in Bornu, but water-melons, dates,
paw-paws, and limes can sometimes be obtained. Possibly some of these
have been introduced since Denham’s time. There are also _Kurna_ and
other wild fruit-trees.]]
[Footnote 154: In Central Bornu I have even found during the dry season
in sandy places a species of _Anastatica_, a typical desert plant.]
[Footnote 155: Rohlfs mentions that a whole district in Tripoli is
called after it (Rohlfs, i. 31).]
[Footnote 156: Single plants reach a height of 5 metres; the stems
covered with spongy bark are as thick as a man’s arm. Cf. Barth, ii.
197. [Kanuri, ‘kayo’, Hausa, ‘tumfafia’.]]
[Footnote 157: Nachtigal, i. 261; Chudeau, _La Géographie_, xv, p. 327.]
[Footnote 158: Cf. also Barth, ii. 319, and Nachtigal, i. 582.]
[Footnote 159: [Incorrect.]]
[Footnote 160: Barth, ii. 212 and 314.]
[Footnote 161: Barth, iv. 46 (German edition).]
[Footnote 162: Barth, moreover, mentions also a species of _Chamaerops_
indigenous to Bornu (Barth, iii. 170).]
[Footnote 163: Barth, iii. 96, 99, 100, 105; Nachtigal, ii. 322. Von
Beurmann found in Bornu yet another unclassified species of _Phoenix_,
vide _Zeitschrift für allgemeine Erdkunde_, xv, p. 287.]
[Footnote 164: Barth, iii. 42-3 (Barth erroneously calls the plant
‘siwak’). Nachtigal, i. 414 and 555.]
[Footnote 165: Foureau, _D’Alger au Congo_, pp. 588 and 590.]
[Footnote 166: Barth, iii. 26.]
[Footnote 167: Cf. Nachtigal, i. 413, and Foureau, _Documents
scientifiques_, i. 408.]
[Footnote 168: [Called in Kanuri ‘Kige̥’ or ‘Kighir’.]]
[Footnote 169: Barth, ii. 314.]
[Footnote 170: Cf. Foureau, _Documents scientifiques_, i. 441. In the
same passage a whole number of other species of acacia are cited. [Cf.
_Bulletin of the Imperial Institute_, 1908, 6. 47 and 1910, 8. 352.]]
[Footnote 171: Barth, iii. 58 (there called _Mimosa ferruginea_).]
[Footnote 172: Nachtigal, ii. 487.]
[Footnote 173: Foureau, _Documents scientifiques_, i. 441.]
[Footnote 174: [Hausa ‘gawo’, Kanuri ‘Karage̥’.]]
[Footnote 175: Foureau mentions the same peculiarity for the _Acacia
Trentiniani_, a smaller species belonging chiefly to Aïr, but found also
in Bornu.]
[Footnote 176: Cf. also Nachtigal, ii. 383.]
[Footnote 177: Barth, iv. 87-8, and Chudeau, _La Géographie_, xv, p.
333, where it is said that the northern boundary of this plant is
coterminous with that of the white-ant.]
[Footnote 178: Barth, iv. 118.]
[Footnote 179: _Petermann’s Mitteilungen_, Ergänzungsh., 34. p. 2, and
Rohlfs, ii. p. 15. The latter says: ‘The stems of this plant are, when
young, four-edged and pulpy, but later become rounded. At the base they
are as thick as a man’s arm, and from their juice mixed with that of
other plants is prepared the dreaded arrow-poison, the least drop of
which, if introduced into a wound, causes almost instant death,
according to native accounts.’ Passarge, however, on p. 162 of his book,
when mentioning this plant, only states that it is used throughout West
Africa as a medicine for gonorrhoea.]
[Footnote 180: Cf. Barth, ii. 371-2, and iii. 141 and 157. Nachtigal
identifies this species with _Ficus sycomorus_. Nachtigal, i. 663. [For
monographs on caoutchouc vid. list published by A. Challamel of Paris.]]
[Footnote 181: Nachtigal, ii. 269 [_Rehaina_].]
[Footnote 182: Denham, i. 76; cf. also Barth, iv. 66 (German edition).]
[Footnote 183: Barth, ii. 198. [In times of famine it is even pounded
and eaten by the poor.]]
[Footnote 184: Barth, ii. 387; Rohlfs, ii. 30. In spite of careful
inquiries during my stay in Bornu, I could not find this plant. [It is
quite well known. Its root is shaped like a potato, with pulp like a
radish, and milky juice.]]
[Footnote 185: Barth calls this plant ‘fogo’; Barth, ii. 408. [‘Fogo’ or
‘fowo’ is the Kanuri word, ‘marea’ the Budduma word, and ‘ambach’ the
Arabic word. When dry the density of the wood is ten times less than
that of water, and two and a half less than that of cork. It attains in
two years a height of from 8 to 9 yards, with a diameter of from 12 to
15 inches. Cf. Tilho, _Journal of the Royal Geographical Society_, Sept.
1910. Barth states that canoes are made from ‘fowo’ wood, but this is
not so. Cf. Benton, _Notes on Some Languages_, p. 51.]]
[Footnote 186: Barth, iv. 67 (German edition).]
[Footnote 187: Even in the lagoons and canals between the islands in the
north-east of Lake Chad the vegetation has the same appearance. On the
other hand the higher islands have bushes of the acacia species,
_Crucifera_, _Balanites_, and _Calotropis_. Cf. M. Audoin, _La
Géographie_, xii. 306.]
[Footnote 188: The _Nelumbium_ species, the true lotus plant, does not
appear to have been yet found in Bornu.]
[Footnote 189: Passarge, p. 546.]
[Footnote 190: The _Ceiba_, moreover, extends pretty far north in
favourable localities. Barth found trees of this species at Surrikulo in
the most fruitful district of Northern Bornu. Barth, iv. 39.]
[Footnote 191: Nachtigal, ii. 628.]
[Footnote 192: According to Barth it is found even at Gadabuni. Barth,
iv. 71.]
[Footnote 193: Foureau, however, met with this tree at Zinder, where in
Barth’s time it was not to be found. _D’Alger au Congo_, p. 514.]
[Footnote 194: Barth, iii. 187; Stieber, _Kolonialblatt_, xvi. Jahrg.,
p. 83; Kund, _Mitteil. a. d. deutsch. Schutzgeb._, xix, p. 7.]
[Footnote 195: But Kund speaks of patches of dense forest, which he met
with at Budugar on the Logone; _loc. cit._, p. 3.]
[Footnote 196: Whilst the name of one variety mentioned by Foureau,
_Sarcocephalus esculentus_, allows one to conclude that its fruit is
edible (_Doc. sc._, i. 406), other plants of this species are repeatedly
referred to as being those from whose roots arrow poison is prepared. A
confirmation of this is that one regularly finds on them the
caterpillars of the _Daphnis Nerii_, which almost everywhere live only
on strongly poisonous plants such as _Nerium_.]
[Footnote 197: _La Géographie_, ix, p. 354.]
[Footnote 198: The fruit of the _kola acuminata_, the ‘goro’ nut, is an
indispensable luxury throughout the Sudan.]
[Footnote 199: Barth, ii. 411.]
[Footnote 200: Barth, ii. 458 (German edition); Nachtigal, i. 653. Cf.
also Passarge, p. 463, where the view is expressed that in Mohammedan
districts _Pennisetum_ is the commonest, while among the pagan tribes
both _Andropogon_ and _Pennisetum_ are found.]
[Footnote 201: Nachtigal, i. 654.]
[Footnote 202: Passarge gives ‘Tchibe’ as the Kanuri term, p. 654.
[‘Tchibe’, or ‘Chibe’, simply means ‘of the mouth’. ‘Sabadu’ is chewed
by the natives like sugar-cane.]]
[Footnote 203: Cf. Barth, ii. 241; Rohlfs, ii. 69.]
[Footnote 204: Barth, iii. 161 ff.]
[Footnote 205: According to Nachtigal (ii. 374) it is next to ‘durrha’
the chief grain grown on the Chad Islands.]
[Footnote 206: Nachtigal, i. 654.]
[Footnote 207: According to Barth they were introduced into Bornu at the
same time as the onion, about 100 years prior to his (Barth’s) visit.
Barth, ii. 314.]
[Footnote 208: Barth, ii. 638 (German edition).]
[Footnote 209: [or benniseed.]]
[Footnote 210: Barth also mentions the existence of the _Vicia faba_ in
Bornu, and even says that it is an important article of food. Barth, ii.
314. But this is a mistake.]
[Footnote 211: [Kanuri name ‘Lapsur’.]]
[Footnote 212: It is interesting that this plant, though only lately
introduced—as one must assume—has a name of its own. If the paw-paw
originates from America, as is now commonly assumed, it remains the more
remarkable that it has already been long naturalized in Bornu, whilst
the sand-flea or ‘jigger’ (_Pulex penetrans_)—which we know by
experience has spread over Africa the most quickly of all American
products—is nowhere yet to be met with in Bornu, and in Barth’s time
appears not to have penetrated farther from the coast than Bagirmi.
Barth, iii. 45.]
[Footnote 213: The pomegranate trees in Kukawa, of which Rohlfs speaks
(i. 314), were apparently destroyed when the town was sacked.]
[Footnote 214: In considering the question of whether some plant or
other is indigenous to the interior of the continent, much too little
consideration is paid to the fact that—in spite of the presence of the
Niger—the Central African countries were completely secluded from
communication with the Atlantic up to the middle of the nineteenth
century. It would be interesting to learn whether the adherents of the
theory that such useful African plants as the ground-nut and the oil-
palm were introduced from America, are aware of the fact that species of
fauna, which are characteristic of South America, such as the
neotropical _Eunica_ species which approximates very closely to the
_Crenis_, an African species of _Lepidopiera_, and the _Urania_ species
peculiar to both regions, are found in Africa.]
[Footnote 215: Barth, iii. 229; Stieber, _loc. cit._, p. 84; Kund, _loc.
cit._, p. 29.]
[Footnote 216: Barth mentions that a stuff called ‘gabaga’ was
manufactured from papyrus. Barth, iii. 298. [‘Gabaga’ is the ordinary
Kanuri word for strips of cotton cloth.]]
[Footnote 217: Rohlfs, ii. 10.]
[Footnote 218: Barth, ii. 655. Denham even mentions cotton as growing
wild; ii. 140.]
[Footnote 219: p. 463.]
[Footnote 220: Cf. Barth, ii. 539 and iv. 50; Kund, _loc. cit._, p. 29.]
VI
FAUNA
What holds good of the flora of Bornu, as regards its geographical
distribution and composition, holds good also, but in a higher degree,
of its animal world. The fauna of the country is a mixture of purely
Ethiopian varieties and of such as are peculiar to the Mediterranean,
i.e. the Sahara region, still the boundaries of the fauna overlap each
other far more than is the case with the flora, owing to the easier
possibility of distribution amongst animals. This holds good especially
of the birds and of the winged insects; in fact the appearance of the
fauna is temporarily strongly influenced by the European birds of
passage who make a winter sojourn in Bornu. Again, the Ethiopian animals
are a mixture of the fauna of East and West Africa. Whilst among the
vertebrates the West African species prevail, it appears that the East
African predominate among the invertebrates, in fact varieties appear
here whose nearest known haunt lies thousands of miles distant in East
or even in South-East Africa. In general the richest animal life is
always displayed in the vicinity of water, firstly because the larger
animals can come here to drink at all times of the year, and secondly
because at the same time the richest vegetation is found here, on the
existence of which the life of the smaller animals more or less depends.
According to Nachtigal, the Chad islands alone must harbour a
comparatively rich fauna, even as regards mammals.[221] The rocky
country also, which almost always possesses a water-supply of one kind
or another, and consequently a fresher and more varied vegetation, thus
affording lurking-places of all sorts, is always preferred by the wild
animals of the adjoining plain. The ‘Terminalia’ steppe of South Bornu
appears at its poorest as regards animal life during the dry weather,
under which circumstances an attentive observer may travel all day
without seeing a single living creature save a few insects.
Of the mammals, the various kinds of monkeys in Bornu next deserve our
particular attention: their numbers are exceedingly large and in spite
of the most impudent raids on the cornfields they are scarcely
interfered with at all; they venture into the closest proximity to man,
and often display a boldness of behaviour that one hardly finds in any
other mammal. Thus they enter even the towns themselves, climbing the
walls with the utmost unconcern, bent on deliberate mischief.[222]
The _Cercopithecus_ species, or long-tailed monkeys, are very widely
distributed over Bornu. For they do not belong especially to the hiding-
places among the rocks as the baboons do. They are present wherever a
fairly large and dense growth of trees affords them sufficient shelter,
and so they are to be found right within the Sahara, in the hill country
of Aïr, the most northernly place for Ethiopian fauna, where they are
even represented by two different species.[223] They live always in
troops and especially frequent the ‘bush’ in the neighbourhood of human
habitations, where the millet and guinea-corn fields are their
objective, in which in a short time they can cause incredible damage, in
spite of all precautions by the owners. The best known long-tailed
monkeys of Bornu are the _Cercopithecus viridis_, and the hussar monkey,
_Cercopithecus ruber_,[224] the former belonging more to the flat
regions of the north, and the latter inhabiting rather the ‘bush’ and
the granite rocks of South Bornu.
The dog-faced apes, the baboons, appear to be distributed still farther
to the north than the long-tailed monkeys; but they rather prefer rocky
localities and for this reason are principally to be met with in the
most northernly and the most southernly districts of Bornu, though they
also frequent the plain, as Nachtigal was able to observe near the town
of Affade. Where, however, one finds only a fairly considerable granite
formation, there one may reckon with the greatest certainty on the
presence of baboons. Considering the slight protection afforded by their
surroundings, which often consists only in the similarity of colouring
between their skins and the rocks they inhabit, the baboons (relying on
their formidable teeth) display still greater boldness than the long-
tailed monkeys, and only retire from the cornfields selected for plunder
if energetically pursued, barking furiously, and with their cheek-
pouches filled to bursting.[225] The only living thing that they fear is
the leopard, their bitterest enemy. The commonest dog-faced monkey found
in Bornu belongs to the species _Cynocephalus babuin_,[226] but there is
another somewhat larger species in the higher mountains—whose males have
a lion-like appearance owing to their thick manes—but this species is
not yet definitely classified.
Analogous to the monkey tribe, one meets at Ulugo near Lake Chad and
also in other places in the open acacia ‘bush’ a purely night-prowling
beast, the ‘galago’, _Otolicnus galago_,[227] which is about the size of
a squirrel. Among the numerous bats is included a very large light-
yellow species, which one occasionally disturbs out of the trees during
the daytime, also a flying dog, _Cynonycteris stramineus_,[228] of
considerable size, which always appears in large numbers and flits round
the fruit-bearing fig-trees or kuka-trees at sundown, but makes itself
especially noticeable by its noisiness at the beginning of the rainy
season.
Bornu is extraordinarily rich in beasts of prey, whose presence is
explained by the abundance of game and the considerable flocks and herds
owned by the natives. All the big feline species of Africa are found in
Bornu. At the head of these stands the lion, which, owing to the
smallness of the mane in the male, approaches the Senegal variety. In
Bornu proper he is always rare[229] or perhaps often overlooked, though
he is certainly distributed all over the country; but he naturally
prefers to frequent the thick ‘bush’ of the river banks, where the game
come to water, and he is always sure of a rich and certain prey. It is
here also that he is most in evidence. He is most frequently met with on
the north shore of Chad[230] and in the riverain district of the Shari
and the Logone, where also other game is found in the greatest
abundance. Dominik, who was able to certify to the presence of eight
lions at a single spot on the Shari at the same time, relates that
according to Arab reports the lions here hold regular ‘drives’ for
game.[231] According to Kund, the quantity of lions in these parts has
temporarily become so great, that some smaller hamlets have been
compelled to shift their quarters.[232] The presence of the lions is so
serious, that they not only endanger the herds, but even repeatedly
attack human beings. Denham, for instance, relates that during his stay
in Kukawa, a woman slave was seized by a lioness,[233] and in quite
recent times men have been repeatedly carried off by lions in the
districts near the Shari.[234]
The natives declare that the leopard, _Felis leopardus_, the second
largest of the feline tribe found in the country, occasionally attacks
human beings, and in view of the fact that similar depredations are
reported from other parts of Africa, it can scarcely be doubted that
they occur in Bornu. Whilst the Bornu lion prefers the plains, the
leopard is rather a mountain animal, for the clefts in the rocks and the
ravines thickly overgrown with vegetation furnish him with numerous
lurking-places and also harbour large quantities of baboons, which form
his principal prey.
Of the other feline animals the cheetah, _Cynailurus guttatus_, is the
third largest; this is something like a dog and is often tamed, but it
is distinctly rare. It seems to prefer very dry localities, whilst
another species, the serval, _Felis serval_, with longer legs and larger
ears, especially common near Lake Chad, has a predilection for swampy
thickets, where it is very destructive to the wild-fowl. The last of the
known species is the Summoli, _Felis caracal_, a true lynx with long
prick ears; this appears to show all the characteristics of its European
relative,[235] and like it too is only found very sporadically.
The wild dog tribe are likewise well represented in Bornu. At night-time
may be heard everywhere the howl of the jackal, by far the commonest of
the smaller beasts of prey. The jackal, _Canis mesomelas_, on the one
hand, is useful by exterminating mice and removing carrion left lying
about, but on the other hand is a nuisance, owing to the depredations
which he commits in the poultry-yard, and by often dragging into the
light of day corpses which have been only carelessly buried; in the
latter respect he is a worse offender even than the hyena.
Remarkable for the similarity which the climate of Bornu has in many
respects with that of the Southern Sahara, is the presence of so
pronounced a desert animal as is the ‘Fenek’, _Canis cerdo_.[236] This
was met with by Barth, not only in the northern districts round Munio,
where its appearance would not cause especial astonishment, but also on
the Shari.[237] Here also Dominik confirms the presence of that most
interesting of the dog species of this region, the Hyena-dog, _Lycaon
pictus_, which hunts in packs and forms the link between the dog proper
and the hyena.[238]
As in all the ‘bush’ regions of Africa, so also in Bornu, there is no
lack of hyenas; they have hitherto been classified under two
species,[239] the smaller and very common striped hyena, _Hyaena
striata_, and the larger and somewhat rarer spotted variety, _Hyaena
crocuta_; they make themselves useful, like the vultures and the
jackals, by the removal of carrion, but like the latter they leave no
buried corpse undisturbed, unless prevented from doing so by every
possible means. Although primarily a carrion-eater, the hyena by no
means despises a living prey, and the countless bold seizures and
attacks on cattle, of which the herdsmen of Bornu have to complain, more
often fall to the guilty account of the hyena—who indeed draws the
greater quantity of his carrion from the neighbourhood of the
shambles—than to that of the lion or the leopard.[240] Whether they also
attack sleeping men, as the natives assert, may be left undecided.
To what may be called the slinking variety of the cat tribe belongs the
civet-cat, _Viverra civetta_, which is found all over Bornu, and is
often kept as a domestic animal by the natives for the production of the
civet, which is extracted in a pure state from the cuticle of the
strong-smelling posterior gland of the _Viverra_.[241] Three other
smaller beasts of prey, relatives of the civet-cat, which live in Bornu,
are also here and there kept in captivity by the natives, apparently for
the extirpation of mice; these are the furze-cat, _Genetta
dongolana_;[242] the Ichneumon, _Herpestes ichneumon_; and the striped
mongoose, _Herpestes taeniotus_; they are extraordinarily tame
there.[243]
The animals of the marten tribe are less numerous in Bornu. Worthy of
notice also is the existence of an otter, ‘Lutra’, with very handsome
jet black fur, which is caught now and then in Chad by the Kanembu, and
of the African skunk, _Putorius zorilla_. In Bornu as elsewhere the
rodents are numerously represented. Rats and mice are a regular plague
in the low-lying districts, especially where ‘firki’ soil alternates
with sand-dunes; the rats, however, are caught by the Kotokos and
brought to the markets to be sold as food.[244] A kind of burrowing
mouse together with a species of hare[245] undermine the surface of the
sand-dunes studded with ‘Calotropis’ and ‘Zizyphus’ trees, thus
rendering it difficult for pedestrians as well as mounted men to cross
such places. Of the porcupine tribe at any rate the _Hystrix cristata_
is found in Bornu; the fallen quills of this large rodent, whose
colouring makes them unmistakable, are often found in the ‘bush’.
It is natural that in a land like Bornu, where ants and termites play so
important a part, ant-eaters are not wanting.[246] Clear traces of this
animal’s formidable digging-claws are to be found at practically every
ant-hill, provided it is situated in the open ‘bush’. The ground-pig,
_Orycteropus senegalensis_,[247] is certainly found, and very probably
also one of the armadillos (‘Manis’) peculiar to the African ‘bush’
districts, though up to the present certain information of this has not
been forthcoming. By far the most characteristic of the wild mammals
whose tracks one meets in Bornu—one might almost say one is dogged by
them—belong to the antelope family so rich in different species. The
astonishing abundance of antelope in most districts of Bornu, not only
of species, but also of individuals, is explained by Nachtigal on the
ground that the great profusion of domestic animals suitable for the
butcher renders it unnecessary to trap wild ones.[248] The most striking
of all the antelopes, if one may reckon it among that tribe, is the
giraffe, _Camelopardalis girafa_,[249] which is found, though somewhat
rarely, in the great stretches of uninhabited ‘bush’, sheltered by the
tall acacias, and which also wanders from here into the more settled
districts. It belongs also to the tree-covered steppes to the north of
Chad,[250] from whence its distribution extends far into the Southern
Sahara, as well as all over Bornu.[251] The high granite hills to the
south of Bornu form its first natural boundary.[252] The antelopes
proper are found in Bornu at the present day partly sporadically and
partly in regular herds, separated according to species, but similar in
their habits. The great majority of the species belong equally to Bornu
and to the Southern Sahara.[253] The best known or the most striking
are: the widely-distributed Dorcas Gazelle, _Antilope dorcas_, often
tamed as a pet—the Soemmering’s gazelle, _Antilope Soemmeringii_—the
_Antilope arabica_—the Mpala, _Antilope melampus_—the Bubal Hartebeest,
_Bubalis bubalis_—the red Hartebeest, _Bubalis caama_—the reed-buck,
_Redunca eleotragus_—the water-buck, _Cobus ellipsiprymnus_—the
beautiful horse antelope, _Hippotragus niger_—the sable antelope, _Oryx
leucoryx_—the addax antelope, _Addax nasomaculata_—the Kudu,
_Strepsiceros Kudu_—and the harnessed antelope, _Tragelaphus scriptus_,
as well as a diminutive tufted duiker, _Cephalolophus spec._ As a rule
only the addax antelope and the ‘mpala’ form themselves into largish
herds, often a hundred strong. The former prefer dry localities; the
latter, often in company with the water-buck, are especially fond of the
swampy southern shore of Chad.[254]
Of other ruminants there is finally also found in Bornu the buffalo or
bush cow, _Bos caffer_. Its favourite haunts are little-frequented
places on the Chad shore and the swampy lowlands between the Logone and
the Shari.[255]
The many-toed animals are represented in Bornu by all the giant species
of Africa, as well as by the very small animals belonging to this
family. Of those general in Bornu the elephant deserves by far the
largest share of attention, owing not least to the tragic fate to which
he is destined as a result of the ruthless pursuit to which he is
subjected. Even if one always reckons that the number of these beasts is
larger than it is in reality, one must add to this the fact that even
travellers such as Barth were deceived as to their numbers owing to
ignorance of the elephant’s habits of life. Dominik rightly emphasizes
the point[256] that the activity of three elephants is enough to leave
traces that easily lead one to the false assumption that they have been
made by a larger herd of these pachyderms. Only thus is it to be
explained that Barth speaks of thousands of elephants,[257] while the
number of the largest herd which he himself observed only reached 96
head.[258] If one takes into consideration the elephants which Barth
actually saw, it constitutes a diminution already considerable in the
number of these giant beasts since Denham’s time, for the latter
observed herds still numbering 150 or even 400.[259] Since then the
number of elephants has steadily diminished, so that even the numbers of
a herd alleged to contain 50 head, observed by the English members of
the Anglo-German Boundary Commission in the winter of 1903-4, must
certainly be taken as an over rather than an underestimate. Although
Kund mentions at the same period the appearance of a herd 200 strong on
the Shari,[260] his statement must certainly be grounded on greatly
exaggerated reports from natives.
The favourite haunts of the elephant are the larger stretches of
uninhabited ‘bush’ with suitable watering-places, which are to be found
on the northern shore of Chad and along the rivers, especially the Shari
and Logone, whose banks Barth reckons to be the places in Africa which
are richest in elephants.[261] Starting from here the animals wander
farther afield even into inhabited localities—making the paths in the
soft soil impassable for pedestrians owing to their deeply-trampled
footprints. So there is scarcely a district in Bornu where it has not
been observed, except in the extreme north-west. Where the elephant is
not hunted, it does not appear to be timid,[262] but this supposition
becomes less and less tenable as the number of fire-arms increases.[263]
The second largest many-toed animal of Africa, the rhinoceros,
_Rhinoceros bicornis_, belongs likewise to the fauna of Bornu, but is
much rarer and has only a restricted area of distribution. Indeed, it is
only indigenous in the low-lying country on the Shari and Logone,
especially in the Kung ‘bush’, south of about 10° north latitude, where
it would appear to be more numerous and to be dreaded on account of its
malicious character.[264]
Wherever rock formations appear in Bornu and even where they are not
very apparent, one is sure of finding the smallest of African creatures
of this family, the widely-distributed dassie, _Hyrax abyssinicus_.
Numerous wild boars inhabit the plains and must be exceedingly common on
the Shari according to Nachtigal’s narrative, though he does not mention
their species.[265] Where they are not hunted they appear to be far from
timid, at least if one can credit Barth’s account. The latter expresses
himself on this subject as follows: ‘A company of naked boys were
splashing and playing about in the water and seemed on the best of terms
with a number of wild boars; I have never seen these animals in such
quantities in the Sudan as in the neighbourhood of the Shari. Calves and
goats were feeding on the plain with wild boars in their midst.’[266] It
has not yet been definitely settled whether one of the bush-pigs
(_Potamochoerus_) is found in Bornu; it is nearly always confused even
in trustworthy reports with the formidable and strange-looking wart-hog;
_Phacochoerus africanus_, with its misformed head and terrible tushes,
which may even reach a foot in length. This animal is found far inside
the confines of the Sahara and is still common even in Aïr.[267]
Wherever fairly large rivers, or collections of water that outlast the
dry season, exist, the inevitable river-horse, _Hippopotamus amphibius_,
is never absent. Chudeau mentions the appearance of the river-horse even
in the swamps of the Manga country.[268] Gerhard Rohlfs and his
predecessors still report large herds—up to 100 head—of these pachyderms
on Lake Chad,[269] but on the other hand a contagious disease, of which
Nachtigal makes mention,[270] appears to have greatly thinned their
numbers, at least temporarily, and even now one commonly finds tushes
and other remains of these beasts on the shores of the lake. In the
Shari-Logone region on the contrary the hippopotamus has always been
equally common. Many places there ‘literally swarm’ with these
animals.[271] What holds good of the tameness of the wild boar when not
hunted holds good also under similar conditions of the harmless
hippo.[272]
Finally, the most interesting of the mammals of Bornu is a water-mammal,
for whose appearance, however, no definite proof appears to have been
presented as yet; this is the ‘ngabara’ or _Manatus Vogelii_,[273] which
was first named by Barth on the Shari and lately has again been
mentioned by Chevalier as occurring in Lake Chad;[274] and it can
scarcely be doubted that the existence of this animal, taking into
consideration also the remaining water-fauna of the lake, must have some
relation to the geological and hydrographical conditions of the Chad
countries at an earlier epoch.
The birds of Bornu, so variegated and interesting, are as manifold and
rich in species as the mammalia; not least are they interesting on
account of the alternations introduced by the temporary sojourn of birds
of passage. Not only the number of species but also the quantities of
individual birds is remarkable. In early spring, when the acacias begin
to blossom, the open ‘bush’ resembles in places a single great aviary,
which re-echoes with the singing and chirping of its inmates.[275] But
even during the most comfortless period of the dry weather one can
perceive everywhere in tree and bush strange birds, whose variegated
plumage stands out in most striking contrast to the dull yellowish-grey
of their surroundings. The little that is known about the ornithology of
Bornu allows one to perceive that, as in the case of the Mammalia, an
intermingling of fauna has been brought about. A richer collection of
material than is now forthcoming is necessary before a better account
can be given of the birds of Bornu.
How easily even common and characteristic species may be overlooked by a
non-expert traveller, even after staying a year in a country, is proved
by Barth’s assertion that the parrot is not found north of 8° North
Latitude—and therefore not in Bornu at all.[276] Yet at the present day
not less than four varieties of parrots live in Bornu, of whom the
lively emerald-green ring-necked parakeet, _Palaeornis
cubicularis_,[277] reaches as far as Lake Chad, and during the dry
weather nests in the sparse acacia trees, which are the sole vegetation
bordering the turbid water-courses of the ‘firki’ districts. In South
Bornu, where along the rivers the big forest-trees and the swampy
stretches of meadow-land form a pleasant park-like landscape, the
conditions are also favourable for the Senegal parrot, _Poeocephalus
senegalus_, which extends from Adamawa as far as here, and is remarkable
for its shrill screech as well as for its variegated plumage. It and the
ring-necked parakeet, both equally good on the wing, vie with the
monkeys, finches, and pigeons in plundering the cornfields and thus make
constant vigilance necessary on the part of the natives, who try to
scare the intruders off with various things for making a noise. Two
species of green parrots, or dwarf parrots, who are likewise found here,
with light-grey and red heads, and who are scarcely visible and
noiseless when at work, content themselves with ransacking the thick
crowns of the fig-trees for the diminutive fruit.[278]
The numerous family of the soft-billed birds is also represented in
surprising and beautiful varieties throughout Bornu; it is just among
them that many species new to Bornu will doubtless be discovered. Of the
cuckoos, Barth mentions the honey-guide, _Indicator spec._, which is
useful to the natives, and which is called ‘Schneter’ by the Shuwa
Arabs—probably onomatopoetically.[279] In the low thick thorn bushes,
which it scarcely ever quits, lives the brown lark-heeled cuckoo,
_Centropus senegalensis_, worthy of notice owing to its splendid ruby-
red eyes. In the crowns of those acacias which are especially much
overgrown with Loranthus and thickly intertwined with the fat tendrils
of the Cissus lives in little flocks the long-tailed _Colius macrurus_,
remarkable for the peculiar mouse-like manner which it shows. With
clumsy clapping of wings and jerky flight the rhinoceros-bird of these
regions, i.e. the ‘Tok’ or red-billed hornbill, _Buceros
erythrorhynchus_,[280] hurries from one group of trees to the next, and
on the ground amongst the high ‘bush’ grass, the odd-looking ground
hornbill, _Tmetocerus abyssinicus_[281] sets to work to poke about like
a stork.
Equally remarkable for their big beak and pleasing colouring, the
kingfisher and the halcyon also appear in Bornu. The commonest is the
black and white _Ceryle rudis_, a species which is also found in the
Mediterranean countries, and which one often sees hovering above a
stream, ere it plunges into the water to strike at a fish. A species
double as large is to be found here and there in the more secluded spots
of the water-courses. A relation also of the European kingfisher, only
much smaller and of a darker ultra-marine blue, often darts past like an
arrow, only visible for a second or two above the water, whilst the
shining cobalt-blue _Halcyon semicaeruleus_, or African white-headed
kingfisher, allows us to admire his splendid plumage at quite close
quarters.
Where the river during the dry weather has left the steep banks free of
water, those countless reedy hollows appear, close to each other, which
are the haunt of the beautiful bee-eater, who has established its
nesting-places here after the fashion of the sand-martin.[282] The most
beautiful and also the commonest is the _Merops nubicus_, or Nubian
kingfisher, painted purple-red and turquoise-blue, numbers of whose
noisy fledglings often gather thickly in the branches of the leafless
trees along the banks and are visible from afar owing to their red
plumage. The graceful flight of this beautiful bird cannot be fully
appreciated till it has been seen in company with the kites pursuing
like the swallows the swarms of locusts, chasing them through the
‘bush’-fires, yet without ever being singed by the flames.[283]
The beautiful blue long-tailed Abyssinian roller, _Coracias abyssinica_,
builds in hollow trees, and does not allow itself to be disturbed in the
least in its nesting arrangements by people resting for a while under
the tree it has selected. The three varieties of nightjar found in the
country, belonging chiefly to the southern districts, are distinguished
less by the colouring than by the peculiar shape of their feathers. When
the two most remarkable species, _Cosmetornis vexillarius_, or pennant-
winged nightjar, and _Macrodipteryx longipennis_, or standard-winged
nightjar, appear flitting about in the dusk, the peculiar extension of
the feathers of the wing gives one the impression that they do not
belong to the bird but are some undefined object trailing after it. The
swift, which is related to the nightjar but flies by day, has the same
rapid flight as its European cousin of the ‘Micropus’ species.
Woodpeckers also are to be found, especially in wooded country where the
trees are high; they are, however, rare and insignificant in comparison
with the European varieties.
The Bornu birds of prey show many very characteristic species. The tall
‘Borassus’ palms swarm with hawks, _Falco chiquera_,[284] who have
selected the thick fan-shaped crowns of this tree as their eyry.[285]
The various beautiful kinds of eagle are to be found in places, but only
sporadically; they are immediately noticeable owing to their colouring
or to some such peculiarity. Near water fringed with thick vegetation,
but especially in the ‘ambach’ thickets of Lake Chad, lives the black
crested eagle, _Spizaetus occipitalis_,[286] with powerful talons, which
at the approach of man withdraws in short flights further and further
into the sheltering thickets. The water-eagle on the contrary,
_Haliaëtus vocifer_, with black, white, and chestnut-brown markings,
displays like most of the fishing birds little timidity in the presence
of man. For hours at a time this bird sits poised on some leafless
branch overhanging the bank, watching from this look-out for its prey.
Round the granite ridges of Mandara and the adjacent isolated peaks
circles the useful Bataleur eagle, _Helotarsus ecaudatus_, which from a
great height is able to detect the poisonous snakes in spite of their
protective colouring, and which vies with the numerous varieties of kite
in activity of flight. The most peculiar of the kite species is the
swallow-tailed kite, _Nauclerus Riocouri_, with its deeply-forked tail.
It is principally to be met with hovering over cultivated land, and is
especially fond of perching on the long poles of the hydraulic
contrivances by means of which the Kanuri market-gardens are irrigated.
The commonest kite is the Egyptian kite, _Milvus aegyptiacus_, which is
widely distributed over North Africa, is omnipresent and ever-hungry,
and is to be met with wherever meat is slaughtered or set out for sale.
It takes up its fixed position near the carrion-vultures, surpasses even
the monkeys in unparalleled impudence, steals bits of meat literally
from off the trencher, gobbling it as it flies, yet does not disdain to
pursue the insects frightened by the ‘bush’ fires. The majority also of
the scavenger vultures frequent the same kind of haunts as the Egyptian
kites, i.e. the neighbourhood of human habitation. The scavenger-
vultures, _Neophron percnopterus_ and _Neophron pileatus_, are semi-
domesticated, and clear of refuse the streets, open spaces, and yards,
where they mingle with the poultry; they not only remove carrion but
also every kind of filth, and seeing that they often appear in hundreds,
perform a very useful office. The walls of the town and leafless trees
in the neighbourhood of the houses are where they chiefly congregate.
But even carrion lying outside in the ‘bush’ is discovered, at any rate
by the _Neophron pileatus_; often discernible only as a speck in the
sky, it mounts to a considerable height, from whence no fallen wild
animal escapes its sharp eyes. But the true vulture of the ‘bush’ is the
big _Gyps Rüppelii_, or aasvogel, which loves to hover about the big
‘Gawo’ acacia trees along the water-courses, where the watering-places
of the game assure it of the offal from the meals of the larger beasts
of prey. Of the owls, which are not very common, it is worth noticing
one species, which makes its nest flat on the ground among the tufts of
high ‘bush’ grass.
In Bornu, as elsewhere in Africa, there are a very large number of
different sorts of sparrows, represented by many varieties. They often
appear in large flocks, and then almost always do great damage to the
cornfields. The birds, which cheer the traveller with their song during
the rains, belong nearly all to this family.
The song-birds are confined within narrower limits, and there is little
to distinguish them in external appearance from their migratory
relatives, who make a winter sojourn in Bornu, and with whom they may
easily be confounded. Amongst the ‘Motacilla’ species which appear as
migrants is included a beautiful black and white wagtail, peculiar to
the Central Sudan.
The place of the European finches is taken in Bornu by the varied and
many coloured family of the weaver-birds and the bright-coloured
finches, the characteristic birds of Africa. They are ubiquitous even
far within the oases of the Southern Sahara,[287] and where grass-seed
or corn is plentiful, for this forms practically their exclusive food,
their skilfully plaited nests, shaped like a pear or a chemical retort,
are never missing, and many a tree, especially those of the villages, is
hung with them all over as if with fruit. Almost all species belong to
the worst class of pests of the cornfields, whose yield may be
considerably diminished by their formidable numbers. The measures of
defence adopted by the natives against unwelcome pillage are chiefly
directed against the countless swarms of these little pests. While
certain species appear only in pairs, the great majority of them are
found in colossal flocks. The big fig-trees near Ulugo are so crowded
with weaver-birds, that their droppings fall to earth from the trees
like continuous rain. The true weaver-birds are peculiar in that the
males during the dry weather wear the same homely sparrow-like plumage
as the hens, while very early in the spring they flaunt in gorgeous
feathers of crimson and gold. By far the most beautiful of the weaver-
birds is the orange weaver-bird, _Euplectes franciscanus_, or
_Pyromelana_, which builds in the high grass along the water-courses and
whose cock-birds during the mating season wear a velvety plumage of jet
black and brilliant scarlet, which makes the bird look like a little
roundabout, as indeed he is. Owing to their enormously long
cock’s-feather tails, the males belong to the Wida species. Although
they mostly prefer the ‘bush’, still they are also frequently to be
found in the neighbourhood of the towns; the _Vidua paradisea_, for
example, builds right among the ruins of the town of Kukawa. Many of
these finches, especially the little red or turquoise-blue Astrildae,
are so tame that one can entice them near enough to catch them by
scattering about a little food.
Equally gorgeous in plumage as the weaver-birds, but far surpassing them
in tuneful ability, are the glossy starlings of Bornu, all
distinguishable by their metallic blue or green feathers and their white
eyes. The biggest representative of this family, the long-tailed
_Lamprotornis aeneus_, is a never-failing phenomenon of the ‘bush’.
Everywhere, but especially in the plains, is to be found the ox-pecker,
_Buphaga africana_,[288] which frequents big game or herds of cattle,
and is a useful bird, for it rids the animals’ hides of all sorts of
vermin. An occasional though always rare attendant of the scavenger-
vulture is the black and white African crow, _Corvus scapulatus_, when
there is carrion about.
Connected both as regards place and time with the presence of insects is
the appearance of birds that live on them. In the thorn bushes of the
undergrowth, especially in the neighbourhood of the water-courses, the
golden-crowned shrike, _Laniarius barbarus_, attracts our attention not
only by its melodious note but also by its beautiful black, gold, and
blood-red colouring. In places, especially in damp localities, one sees
swallows; in the neighbourhood of rock formations where there are
springs the black-billed Paradise flycatcher, _Terpsiphone
melonogastra_, appears, resembling the cock’s-feather-tailed Wida
species, and also, if there are sufficient caterpillars, the _Oriolus
bicolor_,[289] resembling its European relative, the yellow thrush, both
in note and colouring, but surpassing it in beauty. In similar places is
to be heard the song of the bulbul, _Pycnonotus xanthopygus_, which
reminds one in many respects of the song-birds at home.
In every flowering bush are to be found the little sun-birds, wrongly
classified as _Kolibris_, or humming-birds, adorned with the most
gorgeous feathers of green, red, or blue, with a metallic shimmer. The
flowers of the acacia, the ‘capparis’, and the tamarind are especially
sought after by these charming birds. One of the most important
varieties is the metallic sun-bird, _Nectarinia metallica_. The acacias,
when in flower and frequented by buzzing insects, are also the resort of
another striking bird, the long-tailed steel-blue ‘Baumhopf’, with its
red curved beak. It regularly flies in advance of the caravan, perhaps
because this furnishes it with prey, and mocks men with its peculiar
laughter.
Everywhere in the woods and fields is to be heard the cooing and
laughter of the many varieties of doves and pigeons both large and
small.[290] The call of the turtle-dove, _Turtur risorius_, is one of
the most commonly heard bird-notes in the Central Sudan, especially at
the beginning of the rains. The _Treron calva_, the largest of the
varieties found in Bornu, with green and yellow plumage, differs from
other pigeons not only in colouring but also in its whole behaviour:
like the dwarf parrot, it searches the crowns of the fig-trees in true
parrot fashion for their tiny fruit. While the latter bird is
comparatively timid, the doves are often extraordinarily confiding; by
scattering a few breadcrumbs one can entice the little _Chalcopeleia
afra_ just like the Astrildae right into one’s tent.
Of the game birds, only two species[291] have at present been recognized
in Bornu, the double-spurred francolin, or ‘bush-fowl’, _Francolinus
bicalcaratus_, and the ubiquitous guinea-fowl, _Numida meleagris_. The
latter, which is widely distributed even in the Sahara, is to be found
everywhere except in the rugged mountainous country, but it is
especially fond of light sandy soil, where it can rake about. Perched in
the big acacia trees in the neighbourhood of the dunes, one may often
find in the evening large flocks of these birds, which are by no means
timid.[292]
In many districts of Bornu, especially the drier ones, is found the
greatest of African birds, the ostrich, _Strutio camelus_, often in the
vicinity of antelopes, whose company it is fond of seeking.[293] It
seems to appear in Bornu chiefly where the acacias predominate, and
after that is scarcely known where the ‘Terminalia’ district begins.
These birds are common also in Kanem, and Barth observed large flocks of
them in the sterile country round Kukawa.[294] At the present day the
ostrich is very often domesticated, especially in the larger towns, but
ostrich-farming has hitherto been so insignificant as to be quite
negligible.[295]
A country like Bornu, which exhibits vast stretches of pasture and
numerous shallow water-courses with flooded meadows along the banks,
offers all the conditions favourable for every kind of long-legged bird,
who, as a matter of fact, are found in great variety and number. The
sandy, heath-like flats around Lake Chad are inhabited by no less than
three species of bustard, of which the huge _Otis Denhami_[296] is a
stately bird similar to the European bustard.
Great is the number of species of plover and snipe (‘Tringa’), which
meet one at every step along the water-courses; many of their varieties
are found distributed as far afield as the Mediterranean. Thus the spur-
winged plover, _Hoplopterus spinosus_, well known in Egypt, is one of
the commonest birds seen along the water-courses that crawl through the
‘firki’ districts. On the other hand, the very characteristic white-
crowned plover, _Xiphidiopteris albiceps_, noticeable for its two yellow
patches in front of the eyes, prefers the sand-banks of the river, where
also it makes its breeding-ground, which it vigorously defends against
nest plunderers by means of the spurs which it, as well as the before-
mentioned species, carries at the bend of the wing. Wherever there are
crocodiles their faithful satellite, the crocodile-bird, is to be found.
Snipe, which, thanks to their protective colouring, are often
overlooked, are common, especially on Lake Chad, according to Denham;
this traveller speaks of them as being ‘as numerous as swarms of
bees’,[297] so that one may conceive from this statement some idea of
the great and constant abundance of bird life.
Besides the very rare white ibis, _Geronticus aethiopicus_, there is
also found in Bornu the much commoner black variety, _Geronticus
hagedashia_, a bird that by its dissonant, far-sounding cry, gives the
game seasonable warning of the approach of man.
The stork family in Bornu are distinguished by their beauty, and to some
extent by their size. Certainly the most beautiful of them is the
gorgeous, rosy-red glutton, the African wood ibis, whom we often find
perched in whole rows on the horizontal branches of the big trees along
the banks—where also it builds its eyry—in company with the black stork,
_Ciconia abdimii_.[298] In the reed-beds along the banks, the largest of
all the storks, the gorgeous ‘Jabiru’, _Mycteria senegalensis_,[299]
gets to work, and with its enormous bill is able to render innocuous to
itself large poisonous snakes, thus proving one of the most useful birds
in the country. In the neighbourhood of human habitations along the
rivers the marabou, _Leptoptilus crumenifer_, is found, and where it has
not yet been snared by Europeans for the sake of its feathers, is half-
domesticated; it lies in wait for offal of all sorts, watching the
movements of men, motionless for hours at a time, and only flapping its
wings so as to intercept as many as possible of the sun’s rays, which it
loves.
The more secluded and thickly-wooded spots on the river banks afford
good places for the big nests of the hammer-head, _Scopus umbretta_, and
here also we meet with the majority of the herons. Their largest
representative, the giant heron, _Ardea goliath_, is rare, but the small
snow-white _Ardea bubulcus_ is an invariable attendant on the herds of
cattle, whose intestinal worms form its chief food.
By far the most beautiful of all the long-legged birds living in Bornu
is indisputably the crowned crane, or ‘Doboli’, _Balearica
pavonina_,[300] which is widely distributed in tropical Africa. Flocks
of these birds often ransack the Kanuris’ fields after harvest,[301] and
where they have not been rendered mistrustful by European firearms, show
not the least timidity of mankind. The same holds good of these birds,
in so far as they have not been hunted, as Denham affirms to be the case
regarding the Arcadian confidence of the water-birds of Lake Chad, when
he says: ‘As I moved towards them, they only changed their places a
little to the right or left.’[302]
Apart from domestic ducks, to which belongs the beautiful blue Allen’s
gallinule, _Porphyrio Alleni_, the majority of the water-fowl are
composed of web-footed birds, which in many places, especially on the
open stretches of Lake Chad, absolutely cover the water. It is certainly
no exaggeration of Rohlfs to say that ‘there are water-fowl of all sorts
in such quantities as in no other place in the world’.[303]
Besides a large number of duck,[304] who would reward a special study,
there are chiefly three species which are always remarkable for their
numbers or their characteristic form or appearance, and are scarcely
ever absent from one of the larger stretches of water. These are the
spur-winged goose, _Plectropterus gambensis_, the Egyptian goose,
_Chenalopex aegyptiacus_, and the pelican, _Pelecanus onocrotalus_. More
remarkable for their peculiar habits are the scissor-billed tern,
_Rhynchops flavirostris_, and the strange African darter, _Plotus
Lavaillantii_. The former is remarkable for the way and manner in which
it ploughs the water with its beak as it flies for the sake of catching
food, the latter for the strangeness of its movements—whether on the
water or on dry land—such as is displayed by none of its relatives or in
general by any other bird.
The central and south European migratory birds are certainly all to be
found in Bornu, in so far as they seek these latitudes in the winter-
time. One of the commonest sights during the dry weather is the ordinary
stork, _Ciconia alba_, which one may meet with in whole flocks along the
banks of Lake Chad, yet they do not as a rule mingle with the indigenous
long-legged birds. High in the air is seen the swift, _Micropus apus_,
and in the ‘bush’ one meets with many birds, which are well known to us
in Europe. The most commonly seen of these are the wryneck, _Jynx
torquilla_, the wheatear, _Saxicola oenanthe_, the wagtails, white,
Ray’s and blue-headed, the crested lark, _Alauda cristata_,[305] the
golden oriole, _Oriolus galbula_, and hoopoe, _Upupa epops_.
The reptiles and Ranidae of Bornu are at present only properly known in
those varieties which are often seen, or which are remarkable for the
benefit or damage which they cause.
Of the turtles, for whom, if only in parts, all the conditions of life
are forthcoming, the only one known at present is the _Sternothaerus
Adansoni_[306] living in the bed of the River Yedseram. On the other
hand, crocodiles, belonging to the species _Crocodilus vulgaris_, are to
be seen everywhere that collections of water worthy of the name are to
be found,[307] but they also stay, in places right up to the foot of the
mountains, in the smaller streams and pools, provided that a
communication, if only temporary, exists with the larger water-courses;
and it is surprising how they are able to maintain themselves here
during the dry weather. But of all places the crocodile is commonest in
Chad and in its affluents which contain continuously running water,
especially the Shari, where indeed one may see giant specimens—as much
as four metres long—sunning themselves with gaping jaws during the
hottest time of the day on the high sand-banks. The great quantity of
fish in the rivers prevents the mail-clad monsters as a rule from
attacking men and cattle, but the contrary does sometimes take
place—especially in the small but deep and dull-coloured water-courses.
In the reed-beds along the banks of the rivers and lakes often lurks the
giant water-monitor, _Varanus niloticus_, with its variegated markings,
while it is just the driest parts of the ‘bush’ that are the favourite
haunts of the thick-set dull earth-coloured land-monitor, _Varanus
exanthematicus_, which has few markings. Most of the smaller lizards are
quite domesticated. On every building, wall and roof, the beautiful blue
and red lizard, _Agama colonorum_, sports in the hottest sunshine, in
some places in company with a brown and white striped lizard with a
lively turquoise-blue tail. At night-time these lizards are relieved by
the confiding Geckoes, _Platydactylus_, who search the interior of the
houses for every kind of vermin and thus are of great utility.
In the millet fields and amongst the ‘bush’ trees are found several
varieties and large numbers of brightly-coloured chameleons, which
appear on the dry stubble after the conclusion of the harvest, and are
able, though not to so extensive a degree as is often supposed, to suit
their colouring to that of their surroundings.[308]
Quite large in many places is the number of snakes, among whom several
are very poisonous and of considerable size. By far the largest of all
is the python, _Python Sebae_, usually to be found in the neighbourhood
of the water-courses, but it is also fond of coming into the villages,
whose hen-roosts it plunders, but is otherwise harmless. It reaches a
considerable length; thus Barth secured a specimen, apparently belonging
to this species, that measured over five and a half metres.[309]
Distributed all over Bornu, but most commonly among the dunes undermined
by field-mice and hares on the south-western shore of Chad, where it
finds plenty of prey, is the puff-adder, _Vipera arietans_;[310] in
consideration of its size—it reaches a length of over a yard and is as
thick as a man’s arm—and its predilection for human habitations swarming
with rats, it is a dangerous and poisonous brute, but fortunately
evinces great laziness in the daytime. Commoner still is the ‘Efa’,
_Echis arenicola_, which in the cool nights seeks the warm houses of the
natives; its proper lurking-place is among the thick-knotted roots of
the fig-tree. To it appear attributable the majority of fatal accidents
from snake-bite.[311] The African cobra, _Naja haje_, the liveliest and
most truculent of the poisonous snakes, is found indeed everywhere, but
fortunately is distinctly rare. Finally, there is a very long green
tree-snake, which is credited by the natives with poisonous
qualities.[312]
Of Ranidae also there is no lack. All stagnant and sluggish flowing
water harbours crowds of semi-gigantic frogs. A bluish-grey variety with
a pointed head possesses the ability of making as much row as a flock of
crows, and after the rainy season has set in nightly drives to
desperation those travellers who are unable to accustom themselves to
the nocturnal noises of the tropics. Small silvery-grey tree-frogs with
a red belly—they belong to a widely-distributed species—are often found
in Southern Bornu clinging to the leaves.
The connecting link between the Ranidae and the fish tribe is a peculiar
animal found also in the Nile, the scaled salamander of Lake Chad,
_Lepidosiren annectens_, which, moreover, is a living argument in favour
of a former hydrographical connexion between the Chad countries and the
Nile. The Shuwa Arabs say the salamander is a savoury dish and are keen
on trapping it; the pear-shaped gelatinous capsules—generally hidden
among the matted roots of a papyrus bush—in which the animal spends the
dry season, are easily found in the dried-up soil on the banks of Lake
Chad.
Zoologically speaking the vertebrates that have been least sufficiently
investigated hitherto are the fish that live in Bornu waters. The little
that is known about them again shows a similarity with the fauna of the
Nile countries.[313] A thorough investigation here would contribute to
the solution of many geographical questions. Lake Chad and its affluents
are beyond all conception rich in fish, sometimes as big as a man in
size;[314] the fish ascend the streams far up to their very source, and
remain there even during the dry weather, provided that the water
outlasts it. Among the most savoury are several species of cat-fish,
which are extraordinarily abundant; at the fall of the water they make
shift to do with a very small quantity of moisture, and are able to last
out the temporary dryness in the humid mud. The best-known varieties are
the electric cat-fish, _Malapterurus electricus_,[315] the ‘Fahak’, or
‘puffer’, _Tetrodon fahaka_,[316] and a species of pike, _Polypterus
bicher_.[317] All three are also found in the Nile.
Whilst amongst the vertebrates of Bornu many represent species proper to
East Africa, the same is the case to an enhanced degree among the
invertebrates. Many classes of insects have almost without exception
East African shapes, and only quite a few West African. Certain kinds of
insects are even, considered purely from the point of view of animal
geography, the most interesting kinds of fauna that Bornu has to show.
The fact that numerous palearctic insects are also represented here is
partly to be explained by their considerable powers of flight; but it is
further noteworthy that the Sudan species, which have to undergo without
exception only a short larval stage, show with a quicker period of
generation a far smaller size than the corresponding European, i.e.
Mediterranean species.
In a country where the distinction between the wet and dry seasons is so
sharply defined as in Bornu, it is natural that the life of the legged
creatures, whose whole existence is closely bound up with the constant
moisture of the soil and atmosphere, is subject to considerable
fluctuations as regards abundance. Thus soon after the beginning of the
first rains great numbers of insects of all sorts appear, which indeed
decrease somewhat in the middle of the rainy season, to reach their
height during harvest time, whilst the winter is poor in insect-life.
Where the species appear in successive generations following each other
alike in the dry and in the rainy seasons—this holds good especially of
the butterflies—they are subject in a remarkable degree to the laws of
seasonal dimorphism, that is to say that the parts which remain visible
in repose, show a noteworthy adaptability to the colouring of their
surroundings. To the insects and such-like creatures, which are in
evidence at all times of the year, belong especially those whose
presence at any time is considered a nuisance, such as termites, ants,
or vermin.
Of all the insect genera the beetles are the best represented, not only
as regards number of species but also as regards splendour of
appearance.[318] Big camboid-beetles equipped with formidable
mandibles—to this species belong the giant _Anthia venator_, found all
over North Africa—gauzy-winged tiger-beetles, _Cicindelae_, which scurry
over the sand-banks, and big black water-beetles, _Cybister_, which
people all the ponds and pools, are the most rapacious among them. In
Bornu the chafer family is also rich both in appearance and species.
Everywhere on dung one meets big and little sleek black or metallic
tinted dung-beetles, whose giant variety is the elephant dung-beetle,
_Heliocopris Sandersi_, which builds long tunnels on the ground and is
the most powerful of dung-rollers. Whilst the _Dynastidae_ are very
scarce in the Sudan, the rose-beetles, or _Cetonidae_, are as prominent
in Bornu as everywhere else in Africa, both as regards number of
species, size, and colouring. Great quantities of these beetles, new and
surprising examples of which appear every month, are first seen
immediately after the beginning of the rains, when every flowering
acacia swarms with them. Very many species, and quite the most beautiful
ones, such as the white ant-eating _Gnathocera_ species with its zebra-
like markings of black, white, and yellow, or the big golden-green fork-
nosed _Eudicellae_ of South Bornu, seek the sap which flows from the
grasses and trees; at the slightest concussion of these drinking-places
they fly off with a loud buzzing.
Distinguished likewise by numerous species and brilliant colouring is
the family of gala-beetles, _Buprestidae_, and the long-horned beetles,
or _Cerambycidae_. Of the former there is a large and thoroughly
tropical variety, with golden-yellow marking on a ground like brown
leather, which is found even as far as the country of Aïr in the Sahara;
it is called _Sternocera castanea_.[319] Quantities of this giant beetle
swarm about the end of the rains on the big acacia trees, on whose
leaves they feed. On the dunes overgrown with broom on the banks of Chad
one finds the beautiful steel-blue _Caillaudi_ thickly powdered with
yellow, which belong to the _Buprestidae_ species, _Julodis_,
characteristic of the southern Mediterranean lands. The long-horned
beetles, usually with very variegated wing teguments, are remarkable for
the damage they do to timber. One large and active species of an orange-
yellow colour, striped with velvety black, the _Diastocera fasciata_, is
noteworthy for the way in which both males and females are wont to gnaw
off, like a beaver, quite large branches of certain trees, in order to
find a place to lay their eggs; the stumps thus sawn through are so
neatly done that they might have been produced by a turner’s lathe.[320]
Of the beetles that appear in large numbers, one should especially
mention the black _Pimeliae_, a true palearctic variety, which are to be
found in the sandy districts of Bornu, especially in the neighbourhood
of villages amongst dirt and rubbish. Finally, the fire-flies, whose
light may be observed at the beginning of the rains all the evening
everywhere in tree and bush, belong to the widely-distributed species of
_Lampyris_.
Besides the beetles the _Hymenopterae_ in Bornu also belong to the class
of insects who are of importance for the good service or the damage that
they do; thus the honey-bees are certainly as numerous as the varieties
belonging to this family which are hurtful to man. Wherever there are
fair-sized trees with hollows in them, and especially in South Bornu,
one may count with certainty on the presence of swarms of wild bees,
which are distinguished in no way from those of other parts of Africa,
as far as concerns viciousness and truculence, as all travellers have
reason to relate.[321] Nevertheless, the natives understand very well
how to get at the honey, and have also hit upon contrivances for
settling the bees in places decided on by themselves. Barth and
Nachtigal mention besides the tree-living bees a species which nests in
holes in the ground and produces a special kind of honey.[322] Whilst
the _Apis_ variety, to which the stinging honey-bee belongs, only
attacks one if one approaches its nest, its relative the non-stinging
_Melipona_ variety makes itself a regular pest by following man and
beast in whole swarms in order to suck their sweat, so that many
travellers, especially in view of the smaller size of the _Melipona_,
have been led to regard them as flies. Especially unpleasant is the
acrid smell which these _Hymenopterae_ diffuse when one kills them, and
this attracts still larger swarms of the intrusive insects.
The _Formicinae_, or ants, appear in Bornu in remarkable numbers though
not in such masses as in the primaeval forest region. Many are
apparently identified, even by travellers like Barth, with the termites,
and are thus held to some extent responsible for the latter’s
destructive activity,[323] yet they are ubiquitous and their
intrusiveness, though not always injurious, makes them in the highest
degree troublesome. It is only by making a barrier of oil or water that
one can protect oneself from their attentions. The driver-ant, too,
_Annoma_, that unpleasant visitor from the primaeval forest, appears,
according to Barth’s description, to be always present in the Central
Sudan.[324] At all events the ant fauna of Bornu is very large, and
Gerhard Rohlfs says with perfect truth: ‘No country could have so many
ants and such different species of them as Bornu.’[325] Nachtigal, too,
lays special stress on the number of species of ants.[326] Among the
most important species of _Hymenopterae_ living in Bornu is the sand-
wasp, _Pompilus_, remarkable for its size as well as for its brilliant
colouring.
Bornu is poor in butterflies, if one takes into comparison the
prodigious richness of the primaeval forest in such insects, at least as
far as one considers number of species. In spite of this it is just the
lepidopterous fauna of the country which is extraordinarily interesting.
Only one single variety is West African, all the others, so far as they
are not South European or cosmopolitan, or else of a general Ethiopian
character, are East African.
As far as butterflies are concerned, the shimmering _Nymphalidae_
species, in which the primaeval forest region is so rich, is almost
entirely unrepresented. Of important forest butterflies there are only
forthcoming some of the quick-flying _Charaxes_ species, which are
always hovering over the granite rocks of Southern Bornu, where they
feed on the sap oozing from the trees or on excrement. The _Precis_
species, corresponding to the European _Vanessa_ species, show
themselves during sharply defined periods of the year. Everywhere in the
‘bush’, especially feeding on elephant dung, is to be found the
cosmopolitan ‘painted lady’, _Pyrameis cardui_. The best represented of
all the butterflies are the whites, _Pieridae_, and amongst them again
the most numerous are the charming _Teracolus_ species, characteristic
of the Sudan, which with their variegated markings, their carmine or
bright blue beauty-spots flutter round the flowering _Capparis_
bushes—they come out especially also in the dry weather—and so form the
most beautiful living ornaments of the often desolate ‘bush’.[327] It is
also remarkable how exquisitively suited to this family is the golden-
red colouring of the under-side of the withered grasses during the dry
weather. The _Papilionidae_ species, which includes the largest sized
butterflies, is extremely scantily represented in Bornu; so remarkable
is this lack, that one of the species that is found, viz. the big black
and white _Papilio Schultzei_, is not only a very interesting insect
from the point of view of animal geography, but at the same time is also
the most interesting representative of the fauna of Bornu in general, so
far as it is known. This butterfly is only found in a few small places
among the granite rocks north of Uba, i.e. close to the border of
Adamawa. The nearest relatives of this butterfly are not found again
till east of Lake Victoria Nyanza in East Africa, that is, at a distance
of roughly 3,000 kilometres—the intervening countries, including the
highlands of Mandara, are apparently altogether without them; they were
considered as characteristic of East Africa until the discovery of this
new species. It is only geologists that may perhaps be in a position to
clear up this curiosity in Natural History, for this butterfly belongs
to those, who—like the European _Parnassiae_—are very unwilling to leave
their usual haunts and show not the slightest migratory propensity.
The moths, which especially among the _Noctuae_ exhibit many
Mediterranean varieties, are somewhat more richly represented than the
butterflies. The caterpillars of two variegated _Saturniidae_ of the
species _Epiphora_, which live on the _Zizyphus_ trees, belong to the
silk-cocoon producing family. These cocoons, however, are not employed
by the natives. Many kinds of caterpillars, which crowd the trees and
bushes soon after the first tornadoes, are eaten by the pagan tribes, as
is usual in Africa; amongst such caterpillars are those of the
_Saturniidae_, _Gonimbrasia osiris_,[328] which appear in regular
swarms.
An important and sometimes fatal rôle is played by the two-winged flies,
or _Dipterae_, for to them belong almost without exception in Bornu
those varieties of insects, who have been ascertained to be the chief
carriers of the disease germs, from which both man and beast have to
suffer. Even when this does not hold good, they are for the most part
perfect pests, which may become dangerous from their very numbers. All
travellers are aware of the quantities of mosquitoes, often to be
described as ‘in size equalling a large fly’,[329] which appear
especially along the rivers and on Lake Chad in regular clouds, and make
it impossible in many places for men and animals to stay there. Of these
blood-suckers, to which belong many species of the _Culex_ and
_Anopheles_ family—the female of the latter is the carrier of malaria—as
well as the diminutive sand-fly, _Simulia_, with a very irritating bite.
Denham says: ‘A chief told me near Kussery that during the last two
years he had lost two children, who were literally stung to death, and
from our own observation and sufferings this does not appear to be an
exaggeration.’[330]
There are also many other flies which are justly dreaded, such as the
numerous varieties of horse-flies and the dangerous _Glossinae_, the
female of which carries the tsetse-sickness among cattle and the
sleeping sickness among men,[331] though the latter has not yet been
observed in Bornu;[332] fortunately the tsetse-fly is only found in
certain tracts, but there it always causes more or less destruction
among cattle.[333] Barth as well as Nachtigal mentions the incredible
number of fleas in the houses of the natives;[334] on the other hand the
‘jigger’, _pulex penetrans_, which was introduced into Africa from
America at the beginning of the nineteenth century, has not yet
penetrated to Bornu.
The _Neuropterae_ are represented by the big _Myrmeleon_ species with
brown-spotted wings; they are three times as large as the European ant-
lion. The _Orthopterae_, as far as regards dragon-flies, are inferior to
the big metallic-glistening species of the primaeval forest, but the
southern districts especially excel in the family of the white ants.
Everywhere, especially in the acacia forest,[335] one meets with the
considerable erections, three or more metres in height, made by these
termites. The white ants bear the name of _bellicosus_, _fatalis_, or
_mordax_, but only justly so in as much as their war of extermination is
directed exclusively against vegetable products. Their destructive fury
shows itself in the most troublesome fashion, so that nothing is safe
from them; all vegetable material and objects placed on it, such as
boxes, trunks, building timber, paper, or cord, is covered by these
insects with the familiar crust of mud, unless preventive measures are
taken against them, and underneath this the work of destruction goes
forward.[336] Many districts, in which dry branches and withered leaves
or grass cover the ground, thus take on an appearance towards the end of
the rainy season, which Marquardsen describes very accurately, when he
says that they ‘give the impression that they have been exposed to
floods for a long time’.[337] The damage done by the white ants is to
some extent counterbalanced by the fact that during the rains swarms of
these little creatures, which lose their wings at the slightest touch,
are collected as food by the natives.[338] Where ant-hills exist in the
bush they are in a regular proportion with the number of _capparis_
bushes, which thrive in unusual profusion in just such spots; and it is
not impossible that this fact conceals a law of symbiosis.
The strange-looking _Mantidae_ and _Phasmidae_ do not leave one in any
doubt as to their existence in Bornu. The number of locusts also,
including the _Acridiae_ with brightly coloured under-wings, is legion,
they start up wherever one goes. Rohlfs observed clouds of these
creatures moving from north to south and taking hours to pass a given
point.[339] At the beginning of the rains appear the _Gryllus_ species,
with few varieties but in large numbers. These are the insects which
make themselves chiefly perceptible to one’s hearing; in fact, one large
species gives out such a shrill note, that one’s ears ache if standing
in the vicinity of this musical insect. On the other hand, the cricket,
the most noisy insect in the primaeval forest region, is remarkably rare
in Bornu, the _Fulgoridae_ also are not common; the above-mentioned
distinction between the dry and rainy seasons may not suit them.
Bugs too show a great variety of forms. Whilst many of them are
deceptively like a withered leaf, others resemble the beetle species in
form and markings; and the _Reduviini_ administer an irritating bite
when touched. A species of bed-bug is also found, and this kind of
vermin is very widely distributed.
In hollow trees are to be found centipedes, _Scolopendra_, which are
dreaded on account of their bite, but the giant ‘Julus’ species, or
millepede, as thick as a man’s finger, which lives in similar places, is
perfectly harmless.
Of the spider tribe, there is the thick hairy _Solpuga_, which is fond
of inhabited places and is shunned as poisonous. Still more dreaded on
account of their sting are the various species of _Buthus_, or scorpion,
which likewise exhibit a special preference for human habitations. The
big black scorpion, however, as long as a man’s hand, which is found on
the coast, does not seem to appear in Bornu. Many varieties of the
spider proper are forthcoming and are distinguished by their remarkable
form and often also by their gorgeous colouring. One species with
bluish-grey and golden-yellow markings and as large as a fingerbowl
builds huge webs with strong yellow threads amongst the undergrowth.
Amongst the mites, there is a tick, _Ixodes_, which makes itself very
noticeable as a most troublesome form of vermin; they swarm in
innumerable quantities on the grass of the roads and ‘bush’ paths and
appear even to outlast the burning of the grass in the dry weather by
slipping into cracks in the soil. Cattle and sheep are often thickly
covered with them and on this account are apt to waste away from the
loss of blood caused by them. Apparently the vermin mentioned by Barth
under the name of ‘Kari’ is something similar to such a tick.[340]
The little that is known or published about the ‘Crustaceae’ of Bornu
leaves us in ignorance of some pretty considerable species;[341] still
the Chad and its affluents have certainly a great abundance of
interesting varieties to show.
The few varieties of molluscs[342] which are known in Bornu furnish a
surprising amount of information. While among the land-snails the
handsome _Achatinae_, which are found everywhere in tropical Africa,
predominate both in number and size, there are varieties of molluscs in
Chad and its affluents which more than any other creatures confirm the
theory set forth by Professor Dr. O. Boettger, in _Nachbl. der deutsch.
Mal.-Ges._, 1905, p. 25,[343] ‘that in very early geological times the
Chad district, which has now no effluent, was in connexion with the Nile
water-system’. There are a large number of mussels also, whose shells
cover certain spots on the banks of Chad with a stratum of the same
kind; these spots were formerly under the water of the lake and appear
likewise to confirm Boettger’s assertions.[344]
Among the worms the big earth-worms of Southern Bornu, which are also
found in Adamawa, deserve mention; their excrement forms little piles of
considerable size which are a characteristic phenomenon of the ‘bush’
there.[345] Of parasitic worms there is the well-named Guinea-worm,
_Filaria medinensis_, by far the best known and apparently the commonest
variety.[346]
Information as to the water animalculae of Bornu is practically non-
existent, although this would perhaps be a point of cardinal importance
for the geologist. There still remains a wide and fruitful field of
inquiry for the scientist on this whole subject, as far as Bornu is
concerned.
The principal domestic animals bred in Bornu can be enumerated in a few
words. What Nachtigal said on this subject forty years ago, holds good
even to-day.[347] The most important of the animals bred there is the
ox. In Bornu their use is not confined to furnishing butcher’s meat and
the production of milk, but they are also constantly employed in some
parts as riding and pack-animals. There are various breeds of oxen in
Bornu, but they all show traces of intermixture. The most widely
distributed species is the humped ox, similar to the ‘zebu’ of India,
which is bred all over the Sudan, but which is much larger than the
latter and far more varied in colour. Certain animals of this breed have
the very remarkable peculiarity that their horns grow at a
disproportionate rate.[348] In the neighbourhood of Lake Chad one often
sees ‘Kuri’ oxen with the hump scarcely formed or not at all, yet
adorned with extraordinarily long and strong horns, which gives them a
somewhat strange appearance.[349] Sheep and goats cannot compete in
point of numbers with the cattle. The former are of extraordinary
size,[350] while the latter, as throughout the Sudan, have very thin
bodies, short legs, with short and generally brown hair.
According to Nachtigal’s statement the horse bred in Bornu found its way
there across the Sudan 800 years ago.[351] It has acclimatized itself
excellently, and in the course of years has adapted itself very well to
the conditions of soil of the swampy low-lying plains, which are not
exactly suited to a horse’s anatomy. Donkeys are largely bred, but
chiefly in the south-westerly districts, near the Hausa States, where
they take the place of oxen as pack-animals. They are all of a very
light grey colour with sharply defined zigzag stripes on the back and a
single similar stripe of the same colour across the withers. Mules are
not bred in Bornu.
Of the camels employed in Bornu only the kind that are bred in Kanem can
remain there for long, and even they only thrive where they can find on
the dunes plants to graze on such as the ‘retam’, which are indigenous
to the Sahara.
Dogs are not often met with;[352] they are small, mean-looking, and
certainly have few of the good qualities of the European animal, and
there are few varieties of breed; in Zinder they appear to live in a
semi-wild state and to have undertaken there, like the vultures, the
duty of scavengers.[353] Birds are confined to cocks and hens, and here
and there also pigeons and Muscovy ducks. Finally, of the wild creatures
of Bornu which are occasionally in some places tamed and made useful,
the most important are the civet-cat, the guinea-fowl, and the ostrich.
[Footnote 221: Nachtigal, ii. 368.]
[Footnote 222: Cf. Nachtigal, ii. 504.]
[Footnote 223: Foureau, _Documents scientifiques_, ii. 1007.]
[Footnote 224: [Red Patas monkey, _Erythrocebus patas_.]]
[Footnote 225: Cf. Rohlfs, ii. 37.]
[Footnote 226: [_Papis sp._ Some West African baboon, probably either
_P. nigeriae_ or _P. sphinx_.]]
[Footnote 227: [One of the many West African bush-babies.]]
[Footnote 228: [Small fruit bat = _Eidolon helvum_.]]
[Footnote 229: Cf. Barth, v. 387.]
[Footnote 230: Barth, iii. 58.]
[Footnote 231: Dominik, _Vom Atlantik zum Tschadsee_, p. 186.]
[Footnote 232: Kund, _loc. cit._, p. 21.]
[Footnote 233: Denham, i. 260.]
[Footnote 234: Cf. Dominik, _loc. cit._, p. 181.]
[Footnote 235: Barth, iii. 168.]
[Footnote 236: [Also known as _Vulpes cerda_. On Appendix, p. 182 of
Denham, first edition, there is a drawing and description of this
animal.]]
[Footnote 237: Barth, iii. 293 (German ed.) and iv. 49 (German ed.).]
[Footnote 238: Dominik, _loc. cit._, p. 291 ff. [for illustration vid.
Mecklenburg, i. 63].]
[Footnote 239: Nachtigal mentions four species of hyena in the
neighbouring country of Bagirmi, vid. Nachtigal, ii. 544. But it is very
probable that it is only a question of varieties of the same species.]
[Footnote 240: Cf. also Nachtigal, ii. 38.]
[Footnote 241: Rohlfs, ii. 107.]
[Footnote 242: [There is also a kind of malodorous badger, Kanuri,
‘mbachamma’, Hausa, ‘tunku’, grey with a white-tipped tail and sharp
head. The Kanuris, however, consider its scent ‘sweet’, but their taste
in perfume is peculiar. According to Koelle, they think that the odour
of bugs and the odour of Heaven are of the same nature; vid. ‘be̥rmade̥’
in Vocab.]]
[Footnote 243: Cf. Barth, iii. 320; Nachtigal, i. 598 and 635.]
[Footnote 244: Nachtigal, ii. 490.]
[Footnote 245: Cf. Foureau, _D’Alger au Congo_, p. 646.]
[Footnote 246: Cf. Nachtigal, ii. 544.]
[Footnote 247: Cf. Barth, iii. 285; Rohlfs, ii. 78.]
[Footnote 248: Nachtigal, i. 629.]
[Footnote 249: Perhaps, however, it belongs to a species of its own.]
[Footnote 250: Nachtigal, i. 561.]
[Footnote 251: Cf. Rohlfs, i. 286.]
[Footnote 252: The German members of the Yola-Chad Boundary Commission
observed giraffe even on the northern border of Adamawa, close to the
foot of the Mandara Hills.]
[Footnote 253: Cf. Barth, ii. 244 and 326; iii. 45 and 357; iv. 20;
Nachtigal, i. 533, 561 ff., 572; ii. 34.]
[Footnote 254: [In addition to these, some of which are not found in
British Bornu, there are the common red cob antelope, the white-stern
gazelle, and the sittatunga. There was a specimen of the latter in
captivity in Maiduguri in 1911—the only one so far observed in Bornu. It
was obtained near Mulgue on the River Yedseram.]]
[Footnote 255: Nachtigal, ii. 488 and 544.]
[Footnote 256: Dominik, _loc. cit._, p. 248.]
[Footnote 257: Barth, ii. 190-1.]
[Footnote 258: Barth, ii. 42 (German edition).]
[Footnote 259: Denham, i. 75; ii. 147.]
[Footnote 260: Kund, _loc. cit._, p. 5.]
[Footnote 261: Barth, iii. 162.]
[Footnote 262: Nachtigal, i. 565. [The Customs Clerk when proceeding to
Kauwa, inside the Chad Game Reserve, in 1908, reported that he was held
up for an hour by an elephant on the road who stood and looked at him. A
subordinate Customs Officer, one Shegorama, a man of imagination,
assured me that once when riding inside the Reserve he had had his cap
taken off by an elephant.]]
[Footnote 263: [The whole of the British shore of Chad is a strict game
reserve. There are a considerable number of elephants there, whose
destructive habits have entirely driven the natives off the rich farming
land there.]]
[Footnote 264: Cf. Barth, iii. 313; Kund, _loc. cit._, p. 4; Stieber,
_loc. cit._, p. 118; Dominik, _loc. cit._, p. 260 ff. [The rhinoceros is
also found on the Bornu-Yola border and along the Gongola. The Kanuri
say there are two kinds of rhino which they call ‘Kargadan’ (large) and
‘Kumarima’ (small).]]
[Footnote 265: Nachtigal, ii. 542.]
[Footnote 266: Barth, iii. 311.]
[Footnote 267: Foureau, _Documents scientifiques_, ii. 1008.]
[Footnote 268: _La Géographie_, _loc. cit._, p. 332.]
[Footnote 269: Barth, ii. 326; Rohlfs, i. 331.]
[Footnote 270: Nachtigal, ii. 288.]
[Footnote 271: Nachtigal, ii. 573.]
[Footnote 272: Nachtigal, i. 566.]
[Footnote 273: [Cf. Benton, _Notes on Some Languages_, p. 286, the ‘ayo’
or ‘manatee’. There is a photo of one on p. 208, vol. ii of Chudeau,
_Missions au Sahara_.]]
[Footnote 274: Barth, iii. 325; Nachtigal, i. 660; _La Géographie_, ix
(1904), p. 342. A similar animal, the ‘Ayu’, identical with the _Manatus
senegalensis_, is found in the Benue.]
[Footnote 275: Cf. Rohlfs, i. 286.]
[Footnote 276: Barth, iii. 240.]
[Footnote 277: [_Palaeornis docilis_.]]
[Footnote 278: The grey parrot is not found in Bornu. Its distribution
does not extend beyond that of the oil-palm.]
[Footnote 279: Barth, iii. 354.]
[Footnote 280: [_Lophoceros erythrorhynchus_. Kanuri, ‘zogum’; there is
also a black-billed hornbill, Kanuri, ‘kogoji’.]]
[Footnote 281: [_Bucorvus abyssinicus_, called in Hausa, ‘burtu’,
Kanuri, ‘kagum’.]]
[Footnote 282: Vid. also plate in Foureau, _D’Alger au Congo_, p. 727.]
[Footnote 283: The other species, such as the green _Merops Persicus
Saharae_, are much rarer and always appear in pairs.]
[Footnote 284: [Red-headed falcon—_Falco ruficollis_.]]
[Footnote 285: Cf. Barth, iii. 287.]
[Footnote 286: [_Lophoaetus occipitalis_.]]
[Footnote 287: Cf. Nachtigal, i. 547.]
[Footnote 288: Cf. Barth, iv. 169. [_Buphagus Africanus_.]]
[Footnote 289: [North African golden oriole.]]
[Footnote 290: Barth relates that in one place he observed thousands of
turtle-doves, whose presence required special precautions to be taken
for the protection of the farms. Barth, ii. 205.]
[Footnote 291: [There are also the sand-grouse, Kanuri, ‘fe̥r-fe̥r’, and
the little black ‘rock-partridge’. The latter is about the size of a
bantam; I have only seen it twice in Bornu, once at Gujba, and once near
Wupti on the Maiduguri-Yola road. P. A. B.]]
[Footnote 292: Denham observed flocks of guinea-fowl of as many as 100
birds. Denham, i. 70.]
[Footnote 293: Nachtigal, i. 561.]
[Footnote 294: Barth, ii. 238.]
[Footnote 295: [Denham took home four black ostriches, which were put in
the royal menagerie at Windsor, vid. Denham, Appendix, p. 199 (first
edition). The Niger Company at Nafada now do a very large trade in
ostrich feathers, but they nearly all come from Kanem and Wadai.]]
[Footnote 296: Denham, i. 254. The _Otis senegalensis_, which is also
found, is very widely distributed.]
[Footnote 297: Denham, i. 120.]
[Footnote 298: [White-bellied stork.]]
[Footnote 299: [Saddle-billed stork—_Ephippiorhynchus_.]]
[Footnote 300: [Crown-bird or demoiselle crane, Kanuri, ‘gubori’, Hausa,
‘goraka’.]]
[Footnote 301: Cf. Nachtigal, ii. 488.]
[Footnote 302: Denham, i. 63.]
[Footnote 303: Rohlfs, i. 331 ff. Cf. also Foureau, _D’Alger au Congo_,
p. 650.]
[Footnote 304: [Including the very common and succulent whistling-teal,
the mallard, and rarely the miniature goose, often called the cotton-
teal.]]
[Footnote 305: According to an oral statement by the English
ornithologist Boyd Alexander, it belongs to a species of its own.
Personally I cannot detect the slightest difference.]
[Footnote 306: The author brought one of these home with him alive. It
has not been determined to what species belonged the turtle observed by
Barth in Kanem. Barth, iii. 67 (German edition).]
[Footnote 307: Chudeau even met with the crocodile in the Lake of
Gadabuni. _La Géographie_, xv (1907), p. 334.]
[Footnote 308: Cf. Vogel in _Petermann’s Mitteilungen_, 1857, p. 168.]
[Footnote 309: Barth, iii. 57. One that was brought to me alive by some
Shuwa Arabs at Ulugo was over four metres long.]
[Footnote 310: Cf. Foureau, _D’Alger au Congo_, p. 638.]
[Footnote 311: Cf. also Rohlfs, i. 287.]
[Footnote 312: [For a very full native account of the snakes of Bornu,
vid. Koelle, _African Native Literature_, p. 189. They are enumerated
there as follows:
(1) ‘Kulutshi’, a python, speckled, 12 ft. long, and as thick as two
men.
(2) ‘Abr’, spotted, 9 ft. long, poisonous.
(3) ‘Gangu’, spotted, 6 ft. long, harmless.
(4) ‘Komontugu’, yellow, 6 ft. long, harmless.
(5) ‘Tshibato’ [jibado], black, 9 ft. long, said to spit poison and
blind its victims; venom used for arrow poison; nicknamed ‘Koana lage̥te̥’
= the villainous felon. Rears itself erect and distends its head. [Adder
or cobra?]
(6) ‘Rokodimi’, square red spots on the skin, 1 ft. long, has four legs,
very poisonous, venom used for arrow poison.
(7) ‘Shargo’, striped black and white, 3 ft. long, nicknamed ‘Kadi
mallam’ = the priest snake, harmless, much admired for its beauty, and
sometimes domesticated.
(8) ‘Kadi ke̥li’ = green snake, 3 ft. long, poisonous.
(9) ‘Kadi tse̥lim’ = black snake, small, lives in wells, poisonous.
To these may be added from personal information:
(10) ‘Wofe’, light yellow, poisonous but not aggressive. Lives inside
houses. About 3 ft. long.
(11) ‘Fushi’, striped, poisonous and aggressive. Lives in holes in the
ground in dry weather, but in the grass in wet weather. About 18 inches
long.
(12) ‘Gergeshi’, speckled, poisonous and aggressive. Lives at the bottom
of trees. About 2 ft. long.
(13) ‘Karua’, dull green, poisonous and aggressive. Lives in the water
in Chad. About 9 inches long.
(14) ‘Kadi suni uguwa’ = snake of the five shepherds. Green. Lives in
hollows of trees. Very poisonous. It will kill five or more men if they
put their hands into the hollow. About 18 inches long.
(15) ‘Silla’, black, harmless, lives in houses. About 6 inches long.
(16) ‘Kadi digalbu’ = the bed-snake. Striped. Lives at bottom of native
beds. Poisonous but not aggressive. About 18 inches long.
In spite of the number of snakes found in Bornu, one seldom hears of a
death from snake-bite. Can the explanation be the same as given in the
old Greek epigram?
‘A snake once on a Cappadocian
Its deadliest venom tried.
Was the man killed? Dismiss the notion;
The snake it was that died.’
(_Memoir of Herbert Kynaston_, by E. D. Stone).]]
[Footnote 313: Cf. Foureau, _Documents scientifiques_, ii. 1054, and
Hassert, p. 154. [In Chevalier, _Mission Chari-Lac Tchad_, p. 437, there
is an Appendix on Fish.]]
[Footnote 314: Barth, iii. 241 (?); Nachtigal, i. 660; Foureau, _D’Alger
au Congo_, p. 714; Dominik, _loc. cit._, p. 187.]
[Footnote 315: Barth, iii. 36.]
[Footnote 316: Foureau, _Documents scientifiques_, ii. 1054.]
[Footnote 317: _Idem_, and Nachtigal, ii. 495.]
[Footnote 318: Cf. Kolbe, _Berliner ent. Zeitschrift_, li. Jahrg., 1906,
p. 334 ff., and Ch. Kerremans, ‘Buprestides des environs du Lac Tchad,’
in _Ann. de la Société ent. de Belge_, Brussels, 1907. [Cf. Chevalier,
_Mission Chari-Lac Tchad_, p. 703, Appendix on Coleoptera.]]
[Footnote 319: Foureau, _Documents scientifiques_, ii. 1021.]
[Footnote 320: [These beetles are known among Europeans in Bornu as the
Colorado beetle. I do not know if the term is a correct one. A small sum
is spent every year in their extermination in the vicinity of Government
stations.—P. A. B.]]
[Footnote 321: Cf. also Barth, iii. 240.]
[Footnote 322: Barth, ii. 337; Nachtigal, i. 666.]
[Footnote 323: Barth, iii. 341. According to Nachtigal there is one
species of ant which is the termite’s chief foe. Nachtigal, ii. 556.
[This is the large black travelling ant, Hausa, ‘Kwalkwassa,’ Kanuri,
‘Kanam leïrabe’.]]
[Footnote 324: Barth, iii. 397. From the description there given it
appears that Barth regarded ants as termites.]
[Footnote 325: Rohlfs, ii. 9.]
[Footnote 326: Nachtigal, ii. 556.]
[Footnote 327: Cf. also Rohlfs, i. 287.]
[Footnote 328: Cf. Nachtigal, i. 662 [silk-moths].]
[Footnote 329: Denham, i. 119.]
[Footnote 330: Denham, ii. 30; cf. also ii. 92 and Barth, iii. 251
(German edition); Nachtigal, ii. 386.]
[Footnote 331: [It has been suggested that there is a mention of the
tsetse-fly in the Bible. The 18th and 19th verses of the 7th chapter of
Isaiah, in prophesying threatened scourges, read as follows: ‘And it
shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall hiss (i.e. whistle)
for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and
for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. And they shall come and
shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the
rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes [in margin, or
commendable trees].’ The ‘uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt’ can
hardly mean anything else than the headwaters of the Nile, viz. the
Victoria Nyanza, whilst by the usual law of antithesis in Hebrew
composition, the first half of the 19th verse will refer to the bee and
the second half to the fly, i.e. that the flies shall rest ‘upon all
thorns and upon all bushes’, and it is the well-known habit of the
tsetse-fly to rest on the thorny ambach-shrubs near the Lake.
Arguing from this in an article in the _Royal Geographical Society’s
Journal_ for February, 1913, Dr. Felix Oswald remarks that although
sleeping sickness only entered Uganda eleven years ago from the west, it
is not improbable that it may have existed in the region of the great
African lakes in past ages, subsequently disappearing. In the discussion
on the paper, Sir Percy Girouard gave it as his opinion that the disease
had spent its force in West Africa through centuries, and had become
endemic.]]
[Footnote 332: The only species as yet known in Bornu, the _Glossina
tachinoides_, is found in places on the bushy banks of streams.
[_Glossina submorsitans_, has also been found. The only case of
sleeping-sickness so far observed in Bornu was that of a prison warder
who was proved to have contracted the disease which proved fatal, at
Loko in Nassarawa Province three years before. The case was described by
Dr. D. Alexander in the _Journal of Tropical Medicine_, for 1911.]]
[Footnote 333: Barth, iii. 315 and 463 (?); Rohlfs, ii. 15; Nachtigal,
ii. 573.]
[Footnote 334: Barth, ii. 301; Nachtigal, ii. 486.]
[Footnote 335: According to Barth termites are not found in the Musgu
country, which is exposed to floods for long periods of the year (Barth,
iii. 199). Here again Barth has certainly confused termites with ants.
On the edges of the swampy ‘firki’ patches the hills erected by the
termites are to be found everywhere.]
[Footnote 336: Cf. also Barth, iii. 37 and 302.]
[Footnote 337: Marquardsen, _Der Niger-Benue_, p. 46.]
[Footnote 338: Cf. also Nachtigal, ii. 555.]
[Footnote 339: Rohlfs, ii. 16. Nachtigal also mentions a species of
locust being used as an article of food, Nachtigal, i. 666. [For an
account of six different kinds of locusts found in Bornu, and of the
method of cooking the edible ones, vid. Koelle, _African Native
Literature_ p. 198.]]
[Footnote 340: Barth, iii. 263. [‘Kari’ is the regular Kanuri word for a
‘tick’.]]
[Footnote 341: Foureau, _Documents scientifiques_, ii. 1060. It is
certain, however, that the large land-crabs observed by me in Adamawa
are also found in Bornu during the rainy season. [Cf. Chevalier,
_Mission Chari-Lac Tchad_, p. 701.]]
[Footnote 342: [There is a detailed study of the Chad shells in Tilho
_Doc. sc._, ii. 165 ff.]]
[Footnote 343: The species adduced to confirm a correspondence between
the molluscs of Lake Chad and of the Nile are:
_Vivipara unicolor_ [the pond or river snail].
_Melania tuberculata_.
_Corbicula fluminalis_.
In addition to these, I found in a pool on the Yedseram the following
varieties, which belong to the fauna of the Nile, and which were
identified by Professor Dr. Boettger:
_Ampullaria ovata_ (a very common species) [i.e. the apple snail].
_Lanistes ovum_.
_Cleopatra bulimoides_.
[Cf. [97].] [In Chevalier, _Mission Chari-Lac Tchad_, p. 459, there is
an Appendix on Molluscs, with a plate at the end of the volume, and a
Bibliography on p. 587.]]
[Footnote 344: Cf. also Foureau, _Documents scientifiques_, ii. 1060
ff.]
[Footnote 345: Cf. Passarge, _loc. cit._, pp. 57, 237, 292, and 400 ff.,
and the views there expressed as to the rôle played by the earth-worm.]
[Footnote 346: [Also several kinds of intestinal worms.]]
[Footnote 347: Nachtigal, i. 672 ff.]
[Footnote 348: Nachtigal, i. 687; Foureau, _Documents scientifiques_,
ii. 1033 and 1039.]
[Footnote 349: Cf. Nachtigal, i. 682. [Cf. Appendix XVI.]]
[Footnote 350: [The Bornu cattle are periodically decimated by a disease
called ‘fufu’, generally described as ‘lung-sickness’, i.e.
pleuropneumonia (‘fufu’ means ‘a lung’ in Kanuri). Tilho, _Doc. sc._ i.
32, mentions an epizootic liver disease, called in Budduma ‘banami’, as
attacking Budduma cattle, and says that it is caused by the bad quality
of stagnant water. There is a disease called ‘gisu’ in Kanuri which
attacks sheep and goats, and consists of a tumour in the side.]]
[Footnote 351: Nachtigal, i. 616.]
[Footnote 352: [This is a curious statement. Dogs are as numerous and as
noisy in Bornu as in the other countries of the Western Sudan.]]
[Footnote 353: Foureau, _D’Alger au Congo_, p. 506.]
VII
POPULATION
Bornu offers to the ethnologist, as well as to the botanist and
zoologist, phenomena well worthy of notice. Especially he finds
confirmed here the interesting fact that in a relatively short time a
nation essentially uniform in character can be built up out of various
races. The predominant race and the one that inhabits the largest
districts in the country is the Kanuri.[354] They are a mixed race of
the kind mentioned above; their speech and character are uniform,
although single individuals often show ‘throw-backs’ in their external
appearance which point unmistakably to the bodily peculiarities of the
tribes which have contributed to the creation of the new breed. We have
here in front of us one of the most difficult problems of general
ethnology, because all the conditions favouring the creation of a state
of miscegenation from very heterogeneous elements, such as continued
migrations, lack of natural boundaries, and the universal and widespread
practice of slavery, coincide to a degree known scarcely anywhere else.
Absolute clearness regarding the origin of the race is still more
difficult to obtain to-day than it was in Barth and Nachtigal’s time,
because since then the campaigns of Rabeh have introduced new elements
into the population of Bornu.[355]
Roughly speaking, one will not go far wrong if one follows in the main
the deductions of Nachtigal based on the philological studies of Barth,
according to which the Kanuri are a mixed race of Arab tribes and
Hamitic Kanembu and Tubu,[356] which, gradually losing more and more the
physical and mental peculiarities of the dwellers in the desert, became
merged in the negro population of the conquered country. Of the good
qualities of the desert tribes steeled by a struggle with hostile
Nature, the Kanuri appear to have retained only a certain mental
activity and industry, whilst the moral virtues, such as energy and
chivalry, and the generous bodily characteristics, swamped by the
opposite qualities of the inferior negro type, have disappeared more and
more. Not only has the influence of the intermixture of blood been made
apparent, but also that of the enervating climate of the newly conquered
country, which does not call into play all the powers both of body and
spirit in the same degree as that of the Sahara.[357] As regards
external appearance the Kanuri in general are far inferior to many other
tribes in the country owing to their heavier build and pronounced negro
physiognomy. One may well describe them as of an ugly, thickset type;
their women, moreover, still further disfigure themselves, at least
according to European ideas of beauty, by staining the teeth red and
wearing in the nostril the inevitable plug of coral or stud of metal.
Their chief characteristics are untrustworthiness, love of good living,
and true negro levity. Still the assertion of Monteil that Bornu is
justly called by the Hausas and Fulani ‘the Land of Lies’,[358]
certainly suits the Kanuri in no higher degree than other tribes with a
strong negro strain. When, on the other hand, the German travellers
Barth, Rohlfs, and Nachtigal lay eulogistic stress on the estimable
qualities of such people as Shehu Umar, this is almost always a sign
that in the case of these particular individuals the intermixture of
negro blood has not yet been thoroughly assimilated.
The quality which shows the Kanuri in an advantageous light as compared
with other peoples is their industry; in spite of their undeniable love
of pleasure, they do not leave all the hard work to the women and
slaves, as is so very very common in the Sudan and especially in almost
all negro countries, and it is this that has rendered possible the rich
cultivation of the country.[359] In spite of this activity, much that
one may consider as signs of a higher civilization appears to have been
lost, such as the use mentioned above of burnt bricks in earlier times.
The influence of Islam is everywhere unmistakable; often indeed it is
purely formal, but it is the predominant religion of the country, and in
spite of contact—in the Eastern Sudan—with the fanatical sect of the
Senussi, conducts itself throughout in tolerant fashion. On the other
hand, it can scarcely be denied that Islam has favoured in every respect
that deeply rooted inclination towards slave-raiding, on which the
European Powers have latterly for the first time imposed some check. The
ordinances of the Koran are very laxly observed, as is shown especially
by the very slightly secluded life of the extremely coquettish Kanuri
lady, who is thus enabled to play a definite part in public life,[360]
and who even apart from this shows none of the reserve of her sisters in
strict Mohammedan countries. This freedom goes so far that, at least in
the larger towns, the women show themselves in the streets and exhibit
an exceedingly wanton demeanour, to which even the ladies of royal blood
form no exception.[361] Finally, in harmony with this looseness of
manners is the lack of piety towards the dead, in which the Kanuri
compare very unfavourably with many pagan tribes.[362] The practices
peculiar to Islam are shown by the conscientious observance of the
Mohammedan feasts; the existence of a mosque or ‘masallachi’[363] which
is never lacking anywhere, though it often consists of nothing more than
an enclosed rectangular space; and the instruction of a large proportion
of boys in the teaching of the Koran. If the teaching generally consists
only in the thoughtless repetition by rote of the first chapters of the
Koran,[364] still one meets more people in Bornu than in other countries
of the Central Sudan who can reproduce the words of their native
language in the letters of the Arabic alphabet. However little may be
the value of the ‘high schools’ of the larger towns, of which Rohlfs and
Nachtigal inform us, and however scanty may be the knowledge of the
‘beggar-students’ taught there,[365] still it is to be observed that
Barth met people at the Court in Kukawa who knew enough to be able to
converse with him on the subject of Ptolemy.[366] Moreover, the fact
that a part of the history of Bornu, as we have seen above, could have
been handed down in written form, is surely owing to this unmistakable
impulse towards education.
It is obvious that in so purely Mohammedan a country as Bornu is, there
is no pictorial art to be met with apart from the decoration of houses
and utensils. On the other hand it happens that music is extensively
cultivated; besides long coach-horns and the ‘algeita’[367] found all
over the Sudan, which is a wind instrument evolving the most clamorous
dissonances, there are also many string instruments, by means of which
very pleasing melodies are produced. Music finds multifarious
applications in Bornu, and even serves to spur the people to labour
cheerfully in the fields.[368]
The fact that the dress of the natives in Denham’s time—apart from the
fact that European influence is now predominant—was subject to certain
definite fashions, may perhaps be considered as a sign of a fairly high
state of culture. In Barth and Vogel’s time the women wore their hair in
a sort of helmet shape, quite different from the fashion prevailing
now,[369] though the tattoo marks usual at that time, numerous parallel
lines or three scars on each cheek, are still partly retained to-
day.[370] The tobe and burnous, formerly invariably worn by men, have
now in many cases been replaced by the Dervish dress introduced by
Rabeh. The Kanuri bestow great attention on their external appearance
and show a preference for costly stuffs; besides those manufactured in
the country itself, excellent cotton fabrics are imported by way of
Tripoli and the Niger, and as a result of this their taste is constantly
changing. This has become especially noticeable in the last decade, and
is shown by the preponderance of East Sudan influence over that of the
Hausa States, which was formerly predominant, in the dress of the Bornu
troops, consisting of wide trousers, the fez, and the Rabeh ‘gown’, worn
especially by the infantry. The cavalry have to a large extent retained
the old equipment, which from the remotest times has been peculiar to
the Central Sudan, consisting of a coat of mail worn under the clothes,
made of a thickly wadded cotton quilt, which can protect both horse and
rider against poisoned arrows or throwing knives, and a helmet, which is
occasionally furnished with a piece of chain-mail[371] to cover the nape
of the neck. They are still armed, even to-day, with the lance, though
besides this various kinds of missile weapons—such as the infantry
invariably carry—are included in their equipment.
Houses and utensils have not been subject to change in the same degree
as clothes, and thus they have preserved the same forms as were observed
by the earliest travellers in Bornu and which were so fully described,
especially by Nachtigal.[372] In all villages or the suburbs of towns
one finds round huts with conical roofs of the shape usual throughout
the Sudan. The substructure consists either of mud walls or of a wooden
framework covered with matting, the roof of various material usually
furnished by the stalks of whatever grain is to be had locally. On the
topmost point of the roof, which is generally thickly overgrown with
gourd tendrils, is often fixed an ostrich egg as a symbol of
fertility.[373] In the towns there are houses usually of one rarely of
two stories of rectangular design with thick walls of sun-dried brick or
mud and the flat roofs customary throughout the East. The majority of
these houses stand in a compound formed by mud walls, which render it
impossible to see into them from outside. The dwellings of all men of
rank are built in this style, as also are the mosques which have no
minarets. The bare outer walls are generally without any ornament, only
the party-walls and square pillars of the houses of the great are
decorated with a fresco of paint in three colours.[374] Only such
material as is found in the country is employed in house-building, viz.
wood, mud—often mixed with cow-dung—and mats of various kinds.[375] In
spite of their apparent solidity the mud houses nevertheless do not
afford the same protection against the ravages of the rainy season as
the huts with conical roofs, which carry off the water better.
The villages, in which the round hut predominates, are as a rule open;
on the other hand, places whose importance is expressed externally by
the prevalence of massive buildings are surrounded by a more or less
considerable mud wall, the inside of which is buttressed by sort of
stairs leading upwards, and which can even be arranged for the reception
of cannon.[376] No town of any size is without a ‘dendal’, or High
Street, which, apart from the market, is the centre all day long of life
and activity. The internal arrangement of the houses is extraordinarily
simple and is without much comfort, being generally confined to round
huts filled with household furniture, among which the most prominent
utensils are tastefully ornamented calabashes and carefully plaited
grass dish-covers.
Amongst the employments which fill up the daily life of the Kanuri, and
in which is almost universally recognized to an extensive degree the
principles of the division of labour and the separation of professions,
the most prominent are those connected with the operations of
agriculture,[377] whose sole implement throughout the country is the
hoe, and the breeding of cattle. The Kanuri devote special attention to
their market-gardens—this care is also displayed by some of the other
tribes of Bornu—and thus render it possible in the dry season by means
of artificial irrigation to make use of the soil and produce vegetables
of all sorts. These market-gardens, of numberless small shapes, have
rectangular beds lying parallel to each other, which—like the moulds of
a blast-furnace—are connected by channels and are irrigated by means of
hydraulic contrivances from deep wells, in constructing which the Kanuri
are past-masters,[378] or from the surviving pools of the dried-up
rivers.[379]
The Kanuri wealth in cattle is in some places extraordinarily large, and
the great attention which they pay especially to their horses is a
peculiarity unmistakably inherited from their Arabic or Hamitic tribal
ancestors. In harmony with this is the great love of animals displayed
by the Kanuri, which forms a sympathetic trait in their character, and
which is caused by their often being engaged in capturing and taming
wild animals.[380] The herds of cattle, some of which are employed as
pack-animals, supply the Kanuri first and foremost with milk, which is
never made use of in its fresh state, but not until it has been curdled
by the admixture of cow’s urine.[381] Even the butter, which the Kanuri
everywhere know how to make, always has the fatal aftertaste of this
unpleasant addition to the milk.
Fishing is eagerly carried on in the rivers with small nets, the
fisherman being supported above the water by two hollow calabashes
connected by a stick—these are also used for the manufacture of
rafts.[382]
Whilst both men and women share in agricultural work, the manufacture of
industrial products, as for example even the artistic embroidering of
the short bodices worn by the women,[383] is almost entirely confined to
men. The two commonest industries are those of textile products and
leather. The former obtains its raw material from the rich cotton farms
of the country; the thread made from this cotton is first manufactured
into strips as broad as a man’s palm, in which state it is already an
article of value, and these are then sewn together to form various kinds
of garments. The dyeing of these garments and the embroidering of them
in tasteful designs is, especially in the large towns, a common branch
of industry. From the hides of slaughtered cattle[384] the Kanuri know
how to produce excellent morocco leather generally of a red colour,
which is then manufactured in the country itself into durable and
beautifully patterned articles, such as cushions, travelling bags, and
cartridge-belts, as well as riding-boots, slippers, and so forth. A not
insignificant rôle is also played by the products of the salt-
works[385]—which article is also partly obtained from the ashes of salt-
producing plants[386]—and those of the smiths, who although obliged to
obtain most of the raw material for their craft from other countries,
yet have even ventured on the casting of cannon.[387]
The products of agriculture and industry are only sold privately to a
small extent, but they are objects of the liveliest barter in the
markets of the towns and the larger villages. Here the various kinds of
merchandise can each show their special quarter, which at the same time
serves as a workshop for many industrial products. Under the
superintendence of a special functionary, the ‘Maisuk’,[388] and in the
presence of numerous auctioneers and brokers, there is displayed in the
market, especially at midday, an almost international conglomeration and
an unparalleled crowd, which better than anything else shows the quick
commercial instincts of the Kanuri people. They have here an opportunity
to bring into play their mercantile inclinations, though these, indeed,
are even to-day still united with that unreliability and
faithlessness—even among the higher ranks—of which we hear complaints as
early as Leo Africanus.[389]
On the other hand, the military spirit—as is sufficiently proved by the
history of the last few years—has disappeared more and more. Already
Denham was able to describe the Kanuri as an unwarlike nation.[390] Even
the numbers of the army have steadily declined. Whilst Vogel still
speaks of an army of 22,000 horse and 10,000 foot as having advanced
into the Musgu country,[391] the numbers to-day would not amount to the
half of this for the whole of the territory inhabited by Kanuri. The
stimulating effect of the military spirit of Rabeh’s troops was only
temporary; the only things that have remained permanent are externals,
such as the ‘fantasia’ which Sanda, the Sultan of German Bornu, holds
even at the present day at his capital of Dikoa on every Friday and at
every Mohammedan festival; on these occasions large quantities of powder
are blazed away and all the pomp at his command is displayed. Together
with the disappearance of the military spirit has dwindled more and more
the power and influence of the ‘Koganawa’ or higher officials, as well
as that of the ‘Kachellas’ or military commanders, whose position to-day
consists of little more than the title, which in long past times was far
more important than at present. Moreover, with the partition of Bornu
between England, France, and Germany, the old Sultanate automatically
ceased to exist. The Sultans, who formerly stood in a subject relation
to Bornu, such as those of Gulfei, Kusseri, Logone, and Mandara, are to-
day on a perfect equality with the Shehu of Dikoa, the descendant of the
last Bornu dynasty, so that all distinction between them has
disappeared.
Of the Hamitic tribes settled in Bornu Proper who have contributed to
the formation of the Kanuri race, only the Kanembu, the inhabitants of
Kanem,[392] are still to be met with along a narrow strip of the south-
west shore of Chad. But the traces in Bornu of an older race, which
Barth asserts were distinguishable in his day, have now been lost.[393]
Even the characteristic shields of ‘ambach’ wood[394] can to-day
scarcely be still considered as a peculiarity of the Kanembu, as
Nachtigal thought,[395] since they are also found in use by the Kanuri
and Shuwa Arabs of the villages on the south bank of Chad, which often
show a very varied mixture of tribes.
To the tribes settled in Bornu before the advent of the Kanuri belong a
whole string who were absorbed in the conquering people and lost their
own characteristics, but there are others who retained their
individuality and who can still be distinguished from the former even at
the present day.
The largest and most important tribe is that of the Masa in Western and
South-Western Bornu, to whom both Barth and Nachtigal devoted an
exhaustive linguistic study; with them are to be reckoned the Makari or
Kotoko, the islanders of Lake Chad, the Gamerghu, the Mandara or
Wandala, and the Musgu.[396]
Among the smallest of these are the Mohammedan Gamerghu—who even in
Barth’s time had been for the most part extirpated[397]—whose villages
are scattered along the middle Yedseram in Kanuri country, and who thus
have very little chance of bringing into play their tribal
peculiarities. Very important, however, on one ground or another, is the
rôle that has been played in former times by all the other branches of
the Masa.
The Makari or Kotoko and the Logone people, who can scarcely be
distinguished from them, are the most civilized of these, although in
Barth’s time their Mohammedanism was not more than sixty years old.[398]
These tribes inhabit the great flooded district between the Shari, the
Logone, and the connecting system of canals somewhat north of the
eleventh parallel of latitude. They are more heavily built even than the
Kanuri, appear to be of a more serious and steadier nature than that
frivolous people—a quality, however, which inclines them to listen to
the call of witchcraft—and on that account seem to be more trustworthy
and more energetic. The rest of their mode of life corresponds to their
greater solidity of character. This is shown even in the building of
their townships.[399] Manifold are the forms of the massive often two-
storied mud buildings, which have a pleasing appearance owing to the
changing shapes of the doorways and windows and the crenellated edges of
the thick walls decorated with turrets. The numerous nooks and corners
of the narrow lanes and the high walls with their very narrow gateways
make up a whole that reminds one, in towns such as Affade, Gulfei,
Kusseri, and Logone (Karnak), of the ramifications of a castle of the
Middle Ages.
Where so civilized a spirit finds expression it is natural that
industries should be prominently developed; so besides excellent woven
fabrics one meets all over the country with extraordinarily fine basket-
work; in fact the Logone baskets, plaited in three-coloured patterns,
are amongst the most beautiful industrial products of the Central Sudan.
But besides this agriculture receives the most careful attention; the
population is generally pretty thickly distributed and needs an
unusually large quantity of food which will grow in a small space.[400]
Of the species of grain found in Bornu, maize is here especially
cultivated and certainly with great care. Moreover, along the many
water-courses of the country the fisheries are very important, a branch
of employment that soon makes itself very noticeable by the strong smell
of fish offal in the towns. The people who live along those rivers that
always contain flowing water have been compelled to develop a form of
navigation of the highest interest. Their roomy barges with long beak-
shaped prows and flat bottoms, which Dominik compares with the dahabeas
of Egypt, are cleverly built of broad planks, and are moved forward by
oars as broad as a man’s hand or by long poles.[401] Besides this,
smaller canoes are also employed which are manufactured from hollowed
out tree-trunks. In dress the Kotoko and Logone people differ from the
Kanuri principally in the fact that the tobe is hardly at all worn any
longer, much more prevalent is the East Sudan dervish dress; their
weapons, on the other hand, do not appear to have any obvious
differences.
Amongst the allied tribes, the Mohammedan Wandala or Mandara have to
suit their habits of life to some extent to the mountains[402] which
border their country on the south, and which owe their name—not a very
distinctive one—to this tribe; whilst the islanders of Lake Chad, partly
intermixed with Kanembu and other tribes, are the embodiment of a people
living half in and half out of the water. They, too, are for the greater
part Mohammedan[403] and fall into two great subdivisions.[404] The
Yedina[405] or Budduma inhabit the northern and larger part of the Chad
archipelago, the Kuri the smaller and southern. Whilst the former build
big barges singularly resembling those of the Shari, besides possessing
also smaller vessels made of ‘ambach’ wood, the means of transport used
by the Kuri, though here there is a close imitation of the barges used
on the Shari,[406] are nothing more than a canoe-shaped bundle of
‘ambach’ stems.[407] Bigger logs of this light material, which every
man—Kuri as well as Budduma—carries with him on his hunting and raiding
expeditions,[408] enable them to cross in very convenient fashion even
those places where the water indeed has disappeared, but where mud a
yard deep forms a dangerous hindrance to traffic. This means of
locomotion, excellently adapted to the constantly shifting distribution
of the waters of the lake, at any time difficult of access, may have
been an inducement towards the propensity for robbery of the Chad
islanders, although they have sufficient resources in their own fields
and herds, and the abundance of game[409] and fish. Even if they are in
friendly commercial intercourse with one or other of the villages on the
banks, still the dwellers in Lake Chad as a whole correspond to what the
Tuaregs are for the country to the north of the River Yo; in fact, the
‘pirates of the Chad’[410] are scarcely less audacious than the dreaded
robber bands of the Southern Sahara.[411]
Of the tribes belonging to the Masa, the pagan Musgu people doubtless
deserve our chief attention, firstly, on account of their numerically
large population, and secondly, also on account of their interesting
national customs, which furnish ethnographers with many hints for
connecting them with the tribes of the watershed between the Shari and
the Congo, and even with the dwellers farther south. Among these
characteristics belongs especially the use of the throwing-iron, a
weapon which is found far within the Congo basin and takes the place of
bow and arrow.[412]
Inhabiting the flooded country of the Shari and Logone, south of the
eleventh degree and the most fruitful stretches of these lowlands at
that, the Musgu have been able to preserve their characteristics almost
unchanged in contrast to the uniformity of those of Islam. The coarse
features of the otherwise well-formed Musgu people are rendered still
more unattractive by the use of lip-disks—similar to the wooden disks
worn by many Indian tribes in Brazil—with which the female sex disfigure
themselves, so much so that Denham mentions that the slave-dealers of
Tripoli and Fezzan declined to buy Musgu women. The disks are of the
size of a dollar and made out of the most varied materials, but usually
from the rind of the calabash gourd;[413] the lips are perforated and
the disks forced into them, so that they project like beaks. The same or
a similar foolish fashion is found in the countries on the north border
of the Congo basin and even in East Africa.[414] The character, too, of
the Musgu has many features that do not exactly evoke sympathy. The
worst of these is their domestic discord, which has not only prevented
this people from offering a common front against the slave-raiders, but,
on the contrary, has even caused them to utilize in the most shameless
fashion the misfortunes of their fellow-tribesmen in order to rob and
plunder.[415] Characteristic of the Musgu, moreover, is the barbarous
way in which they retain their seat on a horse—large numbers of a small,
shaggy, but pretty hardy breed are raised in the country. As saddles are
quite unknown, the Musgu supply the deficiency by causing an artificial
sore on the place where the saddle ought to go of a horse otherwise in
good condition; this sore is kept continuously open, so that the rider
is as it were glued to his horse.[416] The bridle, too, consists of
nothing more than a piece of rope like a halter, which is bound round
the animal’s jaw.[417] Whilst in their clothing the Musgu are also very
primitive—the men only wear an apron[418] and the women only a band of
rope-like twisted grass passed between the legs—in the building of their
villages one finds, on the contrary, a taste for a certain amount of
household comfort, for art, and for an orderly mode of life. The most
remarkable thing in these villages—at least, as far as the Musgu country
proper is concerned—are the bee-hive or tiara-shaped mud huts, which
have numerous knobs on the outside. These knobs may make the houses more
capable of withstanding the effects of the tornadoes, but they also make
it possible to climb to the top of the hut from outside and thence to
gain a view over the extremely flat tract of country.[419] One also,
indeed, meets the usual round huts of the Sudan and mud buildings,
especially designed for the storage of grain. The Musgu towns, which
with certain exceptions such as the capital, Musgum, are not fortified,
lie extraordinarily thick, so that this district is amongst the best
populated of the whole of Africa, and was formerly the favourite quarry
of slave-raiders. The banks of the Logone are so thickly inhabited, that
one may describe the stretch of country extending over fifty kilometres
between the towns of Musgum and Mochore as one huge city.[420]
The density of population compels the Musgu to make the most careful use
of the soil, and one accordingly finds agriculture highly developed in
their country, and even artificial manuring of the fields. In the neatly
laid-out plantations, usually in the shade afforded by the groves of
deleb palms, there hardly ever fail to be beds of tobacco, which is
indispensable to the Musgu.[421] Their commercial spirit is further
shown by the rational use they make of the products of nature that grow
wild. Hives, in the shape of hollowed out tree-trunks, are placed
everywhere in the larger trees for the numerous swarms of bees; the
surplus grass or other edible plants are collected and plaited into sort
of pigtails of hay, which are likewise hung on the trees to serve as
dry-weather fodder for the abundant herds of cattle; they also
understand how to make ingenious contrivances for catching the fish with
which nature has plentifully stocked the rivers.[422] The Musgu and the
tribes related to them fall into a whole string of subtribes, of which
the Puss and the Wuliya are the best known.
The large pagan tribe of the Margi, inhabiting the southern districts of
Bornu west of the Mandara mountains and a part also of those highlands,
show substantial differences from the Masa. To begin with, the Margi
possess great external advantages. They have finer limbs, better
proportioned bodies, and above all, more pleasing features. The copper-
colour mentioned by Barth[423] may sometimes occur naturally, as in the
case of other negro tribes, but this does not exclude the possibility
that the traveller was in error here, for the Margi often stain the
whole body red with powdered wood. According to the study of the
language which Barth engaged in, the Margi belong to the ‘South African
family’.[424] In character also they differ, advantageously indeed, from
the Musgu. They are easier to get into touch with, less truculent and
less suspicious than the latter. But even here the national character
shows the disastrous effects of the slave-raids, for the Margi, like
most of the pagan tribes, replied to the persecution to which they were
exposed by the Mohammedan slave-raiders, by attacks on their own part,
which were rendered successful by the protection afforded by their
mountain refuges and by the use of the bow and justly dreaded poisoned
arrows.[425] A visit to most of the ‘kopjes’ in the Margi country is
even to-day not altogether without danger, although possibly their
attacks on the neighbouring natives may be the result of certainly not
unjustifiable suspicion.
Every Margi is easily distinguishable by his outward appearance: the men
wear little leather aprons decorated with various designs, drawn between
the legs and hanging down behind like a tail; the women make plentiful
use of iron armlets and anklets and iron beads;[426] they also regularly
wear in the chin a little piece of stick as long as a man’s finger or a
little plate of wood, bone, or metal.[427] Their villages are
distinguished by great neatness and by the pleasing architecture of the
round huts, where instead of the usual straw-roofs they employ an
artistic kind of basket-work. In the neighbourhood of their settlements
one finds as shrines large trees—usually _Adansonia_ (Kuka) or fig-
trees—or little copses, whose signification is indicated by a ring of
stones or an earth wall. They appear to point to a species of ancestor-
worship, a fact which Barth adduces as a proof of the relationship of
the Margi with the South African tribes.[428]
To the westwards the Margi adjoin the border peoples of Bornu, all of
them pagan tribes within British territory, about whom even to-day we
know little more than the modest amount of information furnished us by
Nachtigal.[429] They consist of the Babur, south of Gujba, and the
Kerrikerri and Ngizim between Gujba and Katagum.
In the middle of the old Bornu provinces in which the Kanuri language is
still predominant, along the middle course of the River Yo (or Wobe),
and in the hilly district of Munio, lie the principal seats of the salt
industry;[430] here live the Manga and the Bedde, who are probably
related to them. They are bounded on the west and north-west by the
territory of the Hausas, who form the predominant element in
Zinder.[431]
The Hausas, a mixed race probably of Hamitic descent, but like the
Kanuri with a strong infusion of negro blood, are, thanks to their
enterprising spirit and commercial far-sightedness, the most active
trading folk of the Central Sudan.[432] Their travels extend from
Tripoli in the north to the Bight of Biafra in the south, and
occasionally also reach to the Senegal, or in the guise of pilgrims to
Mecca via the Red Sea; they have thus been able to make their language
the ‘lingua franca’ of the Central Sudan, wherever Arabic is not
predominant. In all places in Bornu worth mentioning one meets with
Hausa settlements of some sort, whose members have generally undertaken
the rôle of merchants and money-lenders, and thus have attained
prosperity or even wealth.[433]
Finally, one must consider as border-tribes of Bornu the Tibbu or Tubu,
and the Tuareg (Tuarik) or Kindin, both of whom were formerly causes of
constant disturbance to the northern provinces. The ‘thievish gipsy-
like’ Tibbu, originally closely related to the Kanuri, as has been
stated above, even to-day have settlements along the lower course of the
River Yo (Wobe), from whence they occasionally push their by no means
purely commercial operations as far as the towns of Central Bornu. Now
and then one may see men of this tribe, recognizable by the
characteristic ‘litham’ or cloth veiling the lower part of the face, in
the markets of Kukawa or Mongonu.
Much more important and fateful, however, is the rôle which the Berber
Tuaregs have played in the provinces north of the Wobe. Considered by
Barth as formerly ‘an integral part’ of the population of Bornu,[434]
they have in later times broken off and since then, while avoiding open
hostilities, have continually disturbed the country by their sudden
raids, which afforded them booty in the shape of slaves and cattle, and
thus for a time completely blocked the roads to the Western Sudan, and
even in parts rendered impossible the cultivation of the land. The state
of affairs in these districts was so insecure that the Shehus finally
saw themselves compelled to appoint a special Kachella to cope with the
Tuareg raids, and even recently these have necessitated the constant
interposition of the French garrisons. At all events the Tuareg are by
far the most turbulent and dangerous members of the whole population of
Bornu.[435]
Besides the above-mentioned tribes, one meets at the present day in
Bornu two elements in the population who are scattered in larger or
smaller colonies over the country usually unconnected with each other,
and though of quite different origin, yet show a certain purely external
similarity, and in fact are often found in friendly intercourse with
each other; these are the Semitic Arabs and the Hamitic Fulani.
First as regards the Arabs called Shuwas by the Kanuri: they form a not
inconsiderable part of the population of Bornu,[436] and are to be
carefully distinguished from the very light-coloured Tripoli merchants
designated as ‘Wassili’, who are equally of Arabic origin, but who in
most cases only make a temporary sojourn in the larger towns of Bornu,
such as Kukawa, Mongonu, and Dikoa. The Shuwas immigrated into Bornu at
various times, firstly with the conquerors of the country from the
north, and secondly at a much later epoch, about 300 years ago, from the
east, no doubt, as Barth assumes, from Nubia or Kordofan.[437] They are
broken up into a great number of tribes, of which the Beni Hassan has
remained the purest; but they have lost many of the bodily and mental
peculiarities of the Semitic race, doubtless as a result of their long
wanderings and also of the intermixture which has taken place with other
peoples. Their language, however, which indeed through the Koran is a
bond of union between most of the North African peoples, they have
retained in wonderful purity.[438]
It is interesting to see how the Shuwas, driven by circumstances, from
being nomads became a settled people. Since the camel, with which their
existence had hitherto been bound up, could not stand the climate of
Bornu, they turned their attention to cattle-breeding, and when later
these too were annihilated by contagious disorders, the wandering
herdsmen were compelled to become settled, and very capable,
agriculturists, who curiously enough have established themselves in just
those districts which are the best watered.[439] It is this totally new
mode of life which—as in the case of the Kanuri—has influenced their
character in an unfavourable sense. Barth and Nachtigal lay special
stress on the disappearance of that chivalrous hospitality once so
notable a trait among the Arabs.[440] The Shuwas modelled their habits
of life chiefly on those of the Kanuri. This is well shown in the
architecture of their huts, which are similar to the Kanuri huts, only
roomier and with somewhat flatter roofs,[441] and especially in their
clothing. Only the mode of dressing the hair among the women, who in
spite of an often unmistakable infusion of negro blood have everywhere
retained their long and not frizzled hair, differs essentially from that
of the Kanuri and reminds one in many respects of that of the wandering
Fulani. The style almost invariably met with—at least in German
Bornu—which makes the Shuwa woman easily recognizable at a distance,
consists of numerous tightly plaited braids hanging down from the
temples and often also a thicker raised plait at the back of the head.
Hair dressed in this style, which is alleged to have originated from
Bagirmi, is kept in place, according to the usual custom in the Sudan,
by a plentiful application of butter.[442] The Arab tribes who have
settled down are to be found to-day in the lowlands of Central and
Eastern Bornu, but especially on the south bank of Lake Chad.
The Hamitic Fulani are less commonly seen in Bornu than the Shuwas,
though in Adamawa, which borders Bornu on the south, they are the
dominant race. According to Barth’s investigations, they were originally
herdsmen, but having penetrated in historical times from the Senegal
into the Central Sudan, they finally, at the beginning of the nineteenth
century, when they had become the ruling race in Sokoto, came into
conflict with the Kanuri. However, in spite of their mental superiority,
they were unable to secure any permanent influence in Bornu. They appear
to have emigrated from Asia Minor in very ancient times by way of
Morocco and Fezzan; many circumstances point to this, such as their
physical build and the use by the men of the Phrygian cap.[443] Perhaps
it was they too who, in prehistoric times, brought over the humped ox
from Asia. Barth says of them with absolute truth: ‘There is not the
slightest doubt that the Fulani are the most intelligent of all African
tribes’;[444] equally just is Rohlfs’ dictum that: ‘At all events they
are by far the finest specimens of mankind in Central Africa.’[445] The
Borroro[446] tribe especially, who are found even in Bornu, between the
Shari and the Logone, as half-nomadic herdsmen, and who live in almost
complete isolation, have retained all the peculiarities of the race—the
spare, sinewy build of the dweller in the desert or the steppe, the
delicately formed limbs and the refined features, which remind one of
ancient Egyptian art, and which in the case of the women, with their
long hair plaited into braids and their big copper earrings, even attain
a certain charm. On the other hand, it is just those Fulani who formerly
played so important a rôle, that have lost many of the characteristics
peculiar to their race as a consequence of intermixture with the native
tribes. Fulani of this kind have remained in small colonies along the
middle course of the Wobe since the time of their first advance into
Bornu; similar to these are the inhabitants of those Fulani settlements
which have been pushed forward from Northern Adamawa into the frontier
districts of Bornu.
The character of the Fulani shows many superiorities over that of the
other Mohammedan tribes of the Sudan. If the doctrines of Islam have
from time to time stimulated them to special fanaticism, on the other
hand—whatever people may say about the degeneration of the Fulani—it is
also owing to these doctrines that they have retained a stricter
morality, which is shown not least by their better developed family
spirit and the domestic inclinations of the Fulani woman.[447]
[Footnote 354: Individual colonies of Kanuri extend far beyond the
borders of Bornu, on the one side as far as the Sahara, on the other
beyond the right bank of the Shari, and as far as Adamawa. Cf. Barth,
iii. p. 293 (German edition).]
[Footnote 355: Cf. Nachtigal, i. 736.]
[Footnote 356: Nachtigal, ii. 417 ff.; cf. also Barth, iii. 77—8. The
name ‘Berebere’ or ‘Beruere’ (Berber), by which the Kanuri are
designated even at the present day by their southern neighbours, the
Fulani, points to an original immigration from the Sahara. [On the
subject of the Berbers, Sir H. H. Johnston has the following
illuminating remarks in his recently published monograph on _The Opening
Up of Africa_, p. 102: ‘The Berbers were very near to the white man of
Europe in race, descent, and culture, but they were sufficiently tinged
with the blood of Africa to be no longer in community of feeling with
Europe. . . . They found the Romans a little too European to their
liking: too dominating, too fond of method, order, tidiness, and
fatiguing public works.’ It would perhaps be impossible to sum up the
African’s objection to the European more succinctly.]]
[Footnote 357: Cf. Barth, iv. 88-9; Nachtigal, ii. 193.]
[Footnote 358: Monteil, p. 313.]
[Footnote 359: Cf. Rohlfs, ii. 8.]
[Footnote 360: Cf. Nachtigal, i. 723; Monteil, p. 355. Even at the
present day in German Bornu the mother of the reigning Sultan, Shehu
Sanda, holds an important position. [In the old Court of Bornu there
were two officials called the ‘Magira’ and the ‘Magiram’, the Shehu’s
official mother and his official sister—not necessarily his actual
mother and sister. Their duties appear to have been connected with the
Royal Household, but the ‘Magira’ also acted as an adviser of, and
interceder with, the sovereign. There is a mention of the ‘Magira’ in
Harris, _Hausa Stories and Riddles_, p. 33 ff., where she is wrongly
described as the Shehu’s sister instead of his mother. These ladies are
not officially recognized in British Bornu, though at one time it was
proposed that they be ranked as second class chiefs and given staves of
office.]]
[Footnote 361: Cf. Denham, ii. 2; Barth, ii. 317; Rohlfs, i. 341;
Nachtigal, i. 738; ii. 299; Dominik, _loc. cit._, p. 155.]
[Footnote 362: Cf. Nachtigal, i. 611.]
[Footnote 363: [‘Masallachi’ is the Hausa word, ‘mashidi’ the Kanuri.]]
[Footnote 364: Cf. also Barth, ii. 543-4.]
[Footnote 365: Rohlfs, i. 344; Nachtigal, i. 625.]
[Footnote 366: Barth, iii. 153.]
[Footnote 367: [For illustration vid. Macleod, p. 20.]]
[Footnote 368: Cf. Rohlfs, ii. 46.]
[Footnote 369: Polko, _loc. cit._, p. 136. The way of dressing women’s
hair usual at the present day had already come into fashion in
Nachtigal’s time. The hair is twisted with the help of butter into
countless little plaits, which radiate from the crown and lie flat on
the head, being frayed out at the tips. This produces a thick crown of
hair, which when seen from in front reminds one of the coiffure of
European ladies. The hair is often thickly powdered with pulverized
cinnamon, so that it has a chestnut-brown tint. [Cf. illustrations of p.
238 and p. 250 of Macleod, _Chiefs and Cities of Central Africa_; and
for Kanembu hair-dressing and hair-ornaments, _idem_, p. 240.]]
[Footnote 370: Cf. Denham, ii. 144 ff.; Rohlfs, ii. 7. Vid. also
Passarge, Pl. XX, Fig. 3. In addition to this there is the tattooing
mentioned above, which was forcibly introduced by Rabeh.]
[Footnote 371: [There are a few suits of chain-mail in the country, said
to date from Crusader times, and to have drifted across the desert. For
illustrations of four different patterns of ‘ngalio’ or throwing-iron
vid. Mecklenburg, i. 24, and for coloured illustration of ‘liffedi’ or
quilted armour vid. _idem_, i. 53.]]
[Footnote 372: Nachtigal, i. 610 ff.]
[Footnote 373: Cf. Barth, ii, 308. [Instead of an ostrich egg, an
inverted bottle-shaped gourd, or nowadays a glass bottle, is sometimes
used, sometimes also an iron spear-head.]]
[Footnote 374: Ornamentation of this sort, such as Foureau describes at
Zinder (_Documents scientifiques_, ii. 934, and _D’Alger au Congo_, p.
505), I myself found in the ruined Sultan’s palace in the old west town
at Kukawa.]
[Footnote 375: Burnt bricks are not employed at the present day. [The
ruins of the palace at Gaserregomo (Kasr Koumo) of the old ‘Mais’ of
Bornu show that it was built of bricks of extraordinary hardness. The
secret of their manufacture has, however, been lost.]]
[Footnote 376: Cf. Barth, iii. 128-9; Foureau, _D’Alger au Congo_, p.
510.]
[Footnote 377: Nachtigal rightly considers cereals to be the staple food
in Bornu, i. 652. [On the subject of agriculture cf. _The Agricultural
and Forest Products of British West Africa_, by G. C. Dudgeon, and
various special monographs in French published by the firm of A.
Challamel, Paris.]]
[Footnote 378: Monteil met with wells in Western Bornu which were 38
metres [i.e. 126 ft.] deep (Monteil, p. 317). [This is nothing unusual;
wells in Gubio and elsewhere are 40 fathoms, ‘nganji’, i.e. 240 ft.
deep.]]
[Footnote 379: Cf. also Barth, iii. 116.]
[Footnote 380: Cf. Denham, ii. 96; Nachtigal, i. 635 ff. [I do not think
many people would agree to this statement _re_ the Kanuri ‘love’ of
animals.—P. A. B.]]
[Footnote 381: This bad practice is usual even within the Sahara,
according to Nachtigal, i. 557.]
[Footnote 382: Cf. also Denham, ii. 88 ff.; Barth, ii. 253 (German
edition) and iii. 34 (German edition). [For illustration vid. Tilho,
_Doc. sc._, i. 26. Plaited grass fish-traps are also largely used, and
are formed into dams right across the rivers.]]
[Footnote 383: For an illustration of one of these, vid. Nachtigal, i.
650.]
[Footnote 384: [Rather from sheep and goat skins. For notes on the
method of preparation, vid. _Bulletin of the Imperial Institute_, 1908,
6. 175, and 1910, 8. 402.]]
[Footnote 385: Cf. Barth, iii. 44; Nachtigal, i. 544, 570; Foureau,
_Documents scientifiques_, ii. 946, and _D’Alger au Congo_, p. 581.
Barth mentions that salt is even obtained by burning cow-dung; vid.
Barth, iii. 240 (German edition).]
[Footnote 386: [For a detailed chemical study of the salt and natron of
the Chad countries, vid. Tilho, _Doc. sc._, ii. 553-600. Cf. an article
by M. Cortier on ‘Les Salines du Sahara soudanais’ in _La Géographie_
(1912), pp. 231-46.]]
[Footnote 387: Barth, iii. 289; Rohlfs, i. 307. Cf. also Foureau,
_D’Alger au Congo_, p. 505. According to Barth, gunpowder also is
manufactured in the country, Barth, iii. 127 ff. (German edition). The
powder-magazine, which blew up when the French captured Dikoa, must have
been filled for the most part with locally manufactured powder.]
[Footnote 388: [‘Suk’ is the Arabic word for market, ‘Kasugu’ the
Kanuri.]]
[Footnote 389: Cf. also Nachtigal, i. 602 and 703 ff.]
[Footnote 390: Denham, ii. 140.]
[Footnote 391: Polko, _loc. cit._ p. 140.]
[Footnote 392: Nachtigal, ii. 336 ff.]
[Footnote 393: Barth, iii. 114.]
[Footnote 394: For illustration vid. Pl. XXIV, Foureau, _Documents
scientifiques_, ii. 954; Lenfant, p. 165.]
[Footnote 395: Nachtigal, ii. 341.]
[Footnote 396: Barth, ii. 341, 414, 445; iii. 161, 269 (all in German
edition); Nachtigal, ii. 426, 530; Nachtigal considers Barth’s
designation of ‘Masa’ for these tribes as rather arbitrary.]
[Footnote 397: Barth, ii. 363. [They are semi-pagan.]]
[Footnote 398: Barth, iii. 304.]
[Footnote 399: Barth, iii. 275 ff.; Nachtigal, ii. 519; cf. plate in
Nachtigal, ii. 502; Bauer, _loc. cit._, p. 101; Lenfant, p. 166.]
[Footnote 400: Barth, iii. 293; Nachtigal, ii. 533.]
[Footnote 401: Barth, iii. 293; Foureau, _D’Alger au Congo_, p. 684;
Dominik, _loc. cit._, p. 173. Plates in Foureau, _Documents
scientifiques_, ii. 975, and _D’Alger au Congo_, pp. 685, 697, 715;
Dominik, p. 189. [For illustration of Kotoko canoe, vid. Macleod, p.
194.]]
[Footnote 402: They offered a very energetic and successful resistance
to the hordes of Rabeh, first of all in their capital-town of Mora, and
later in the hills.]
[Footnote 403: [The Buddumas do not appear to have much faith in their
Mohammedan teachers. One of the chiefs remarked to M. Landeroin: ‘Our
“mallams” are liars. They ask us for alms in order to cure us of
sickness and to prevent epidemics. . . . If after a man’s death his
relations demand a refund of the payments made to the “mallam”, he
replies: “I cannot restore it, for thanks to my prayers the deceased
will obtain an excellent place in Paradise, which he would lose if the
‘sadaka’ was refunded”.’ Vid. _Doc. sc._, ii. 339.]]
[Footnote 404: They are treated of in great detail by d’Huart in _La
Géographie_, xi (1904), p. 167 ff.; cf. also Nachtigal, ii. 362 ff. and
373. [For notes on the Buddumas, and for Budduma and Kury vocabularies,
vid. Benton, _Notes on Some Languages of the Western Sudan_, p. 38 ff.
and p. 78 ff.; and for a very full study of the Buddumas, vid. Tilho,
_Doc. sc._, ii. 310-41. Cf. also Budduma and Kury vocabularies by Dr.
Decorse in _Actes du XIVe Congrès International des Orientalistes,
Alger_, 1905.]]
[Footnote 405: [Landeroin remarks as follows: ‘The principal population
of the Chad islands is generally designated under the name of Budduma, a
nickname given them by their neighbours, the Kanuri, from ‘budu’ (=
grass) and ‘-ma’ (= belonging to). But the Buddumas’ own name for
themselves is ‘Yedina’, the etymology of which is uncertain. It may be
derived from Yedi, a town on the south-west bank of Chad, whose original
inhabitants, a branch of the Sos, may have taken refuge in the islands
from the power of Bornu; or it may be derived from the Kanuri word Gedi,
meaning East. . . . Some people say that Yedina was the name of the
Kanembu tribe, to which Bulu, the mythical ancestor of the Budduma,
belonged.’]]
[Footnote 406: Cf. also Rohlfs, i. 333 ff.]
[Footnote 407: [The usual Budduma canoe is made from reeds, the ‘fole’,
a large reed with a triangular stalk and a head like guinea-corn, and
the ‘ngalle’, a smaller reed and flat. The canoes have long curved prows
like a gondola, only turned backwards. For illustration vid. Tilho,
_Royal Geographical Society’s Journal_ for September, 1910, and Tilho,
_Doc. sc._, ii. 335 and 338; cf. Benton, _Notes on Some Languages_, p.
50. Canoes of the same kind are also made from ‘ambach’ branches. Cf.
Tilho, _Doc. sc._, i. 29.]]
[Footnote 408: [For illustration vid. Macleod, p. 232.]]
[Footnote 409: The Kuri also trap the crocodile for the sake of its
meat, Nachtigal, ii. 374. The same food is also relished by the dwellers
on the Shari, Barth, iii. 324.]
[Footnote 410: [They, however, maintained more or less friendly
relations with the sovereign of Bornu. The principal Budduma chiefs used
to go every two or three years to pay him a visit of courtesy, and
brought him presents which were evidence of goodwill rather than
tribute, consisting of a few cows and a little butter. In return they
received embroidered gowns. Shehu Ashimi offered Kachella Koremi, chief
of the Gurias, authority over all the west bank of Chad, if he would
stop the Budduma raids on the Kanuris of the mainland. The Kachella
accepted the country lying south of Kauwa and Ngornu, but in the
following year Bornu was invaded by Rabeh, vid. Tilho, _Doc. sc._, ii.
332 and 318.]]
[Footnote 411: Denham, ii. 65; Barth, iii. 405 and 408 (German edition);
Rohlfs, i. 291 ff.; Nachtigal, ii. 371, 485, 487, 489.]
[Footnote 412: Barth, iii. 192; Nachtigal, ii. 531; Kund, _loc. cit._,
p. 24. Cf. also Passarge, p. 440 ff. [The ‘ngalio’.]]
[Footnote 413: Among the Kamerun Protectorate troops the Musgu are
nicknamed the Calabashes.]
[Footnote 414: Denham, i. 361; Barth, iii. 237; Rohlfs, i. 344; Lenfant,
p. 145; Bauer, p. 114; Stieber, _loc. cit._, p. 82. Cf. also Harry Alis,
_Nos Africains_, p. 111 ff.; Foureau, _Documents scientifiques_, ii.
992.]
[Footnote 415: Barth, iii. 201; Stieber, _loc. cit._, p. 85 ff.]
[Footnote 416: According to Stieber the sores are not produced
artificially but are caused by the friction of the rider’s bare limbs,
Stieber, _loc. cit._, p. 82.]
[Footnote 417: Barth, iii. 198; cf. also iv. 35 and Nachtigal, ii. 584.]
[Footnote 418: Here and there the chiefs wear Mohammedan clothing.]
[Footnote 419: Barth, iii. 174 and 249, and illustrations on p. 208;
Lenfant, p. 149; Stieber, _loc. cit._, p. 82.]
[Footnote 420: Stieber, _loc. cit._, p. 83 ff.; Map, _Der deutsche
Logone_, in _Mitteil. a. d. deutsch. Schutzgeb._, vol. xviii.]
[Footnote 421: Barth, iii. 211-12 and 229; Stieber, _loc. cit._, p. 84;
Kund, _loc. cit._, p. 29.]
[Footnote 422: Barth, iii. 190, 240, 274; Stieber, _loc. cit._, p. 85.]
[Footnote 423: Barth, ii. 383.]
[Footnote 424: Barth, ii. 468 and 646 (German edition). [Cf. Benton,
_Notes on Some Languages_, where Barth’s Vocabulary is printed.]]
[Footnote 425: The use of poisoned arrows is very widespread. Besides
the Fulani and most of the pagan hill-tribes, the travelling Hausas also
use them as a means of defence. Nachtigal found them even in Southern
Kanem (ii. 260), and Foureau in Zinder (_D’Alger au Congo_, p. 561). It
is especially as a protection against them that the cotton-wadded armour
is intended. For the terrible effects of the arrow poison cf. Denham, i.
182 ff. [Cf. article on arrow-poison in _Journal of the African Society_
for October, 1905, by L. W. La Chard.]]
[Footnote 426: According to Barth these ornaments come from Mandara (ii.
534).]
[Footnote 427: Cf. Barth, ii. 384.]
[Footnote 428: Cf. Barth, ii. 380, 391, 535.]
[Footnote 429: Nachtigal, ii. 431.]
[Footnote 430: Foureau, _Documents scientifiques_, ii. 943 ff.]
[Footnote 431: Foureau, _Documents scientifiques_, ii. 910 ff., and
_D’Alger au Congo_, p. 516.]
[Footnote 432: [Passarge calls them ‘the African Parsees’.]]
[Footnote 433: [Incorrect. With the exception of the three Government
stations of Maiduguri, Geidam, and Gujba, and the Customs post of
Mongonu, there are practically no Hausas in Bornu Proper.]]
[Footnote 434: Barth, ii. 272; iv. 4.]
[Footnote 435: Barth, ii. 203, 220, 234; iii. 42 and 48 (German
edition); Nachtigal, i. 564, 572; Monteil, p. 298 ff. [The Tuareg raids
have now ceased.]]
[Footnote 436: Barth estimated the Shuwa Arabs in Bornu at
200,000-250,000 souls (ii. 356).]
[Footnote 437: Barth, ii. 355.]
[Footnote 438: Barth, ii. 356; Nachtigal, i. 687, ii. 436; Rohlfs, ii.
30. [Cf. Appendix XIV and XIV A.]]
[Footnote 439: Nachtigal, i. 686; ii. 439.]
[Footnote 440: Barth, iii. 284; Nachtigal, ii. 439, 511.]
[Footnote 441: [The Shuwas roof their huts with corn-stalks, apparently
thrown on haphazard; the Kanuris use grass.]]
[Footnote 442: Cf. Nachtigal, i. 651, ii. 491; Lenfant, p. 153; Dominik,
p. 197.]
[Footnote 443: This has since been adopted by the other tribes of the
Sudan.]
[Footnote 444: Barth, iv. 143.]
[Footnote 445: Rohlfs, ii. 132.]
[Footnote 446: [Called in Bornu ‘Abore Fellata’.] It is a proof of the
intelligence of the Borroro that it is owing to this seclusion that they
are able to protect their cattle against contagious disorders. Their
herds provide the Borroro with everything. The milk, which amongst them
is not mixed with cow’s urine, is their chief food.]
[Footnote 447: Cf. Barth, ii. 229, iii. 257, iv. 143; Passarge, pp. 69,
167 ff., 424 ff., 509; Harry Alis, _Nos Africains_, p. 311; Bauer, p.
133; Chudeau, _loc. cit._, p. 331; Dominik, _loc. cit._, p. 87. [Cf.
Appendix XIV.]]
VIII
COMMERCIAL CONDITIONS AND PROSPECTS
Bauer says very appropriately in his book, when treating of commerce,
that ‘the treasures of the Northern Kameruns consist in fertility and
capacity for labour’.[448] This statement holds good in a still higher
degree for German Bornu, the northernmost part of the Northern Kameruns,
and for the whole of Bornu in general; for there does not seem to be the
slightest prospect of finding useful minerals here, as far as one can
judge from geological conditions. All the more urgent, therefore, is the
duty of the Colonial Power interested in the commercial opening-up of
the country to devote the most assiduous attention to the numerous and
comparatively civilized population. In a climate like this, quite
unsuited to Europeans, the natives alone can extract the full market
value from the natural fertility of the soil, and they are already to a
large extent prepared to receive the products of European industry.
How prodigiously full of vitality the population of Bornu is, is proved
by the high figure at which it has been able to maintain itself, in
spite of the fact that before the beginning of the anti-slavery movement
it was yearly decimated over wide districts. How destructive were the
military expeditions, which generally started from Kukawa and penetrated
into the heart of Adamawa,[449] expeditions which were only undertaken
because ‘the treasure-chests and slave-huts were empty and must be
filled’,[450] we know well enough from the descriptions of Denham,
Barth, Vogel, Rohlfs, and Nachtigal. Not only the Shehus, but all their
vassal chiefs also, undertook razzias on their own account into the
thickly populated districts. Everything that the slave-raiders had no
use for—and this was the larger part—was destroyed on the spot; in spite
of this, slave caravans of over 4.000 slaves were dispatched from
Kukawa, of whom naturally only a very small proportion lived to reach
their final goal, Murzuk and Tripoli.[451] This inhuman, senseless, and
aimless traffic, dealing in the most valuable goods which the Central
Sudan possesses, viz. its numerous and industrious population, has now
ceased, since the Colonial Powers have paved the way for an orderly
state of affairs. But it would not be less wrong, and like throwing the
helve after the hatchet, were one now, considering the present state of
the Sudan peoples, to forcibly free all so-called slaves, especially as
the marriages of free-born women in the Sudan are often nothing more
than a purchase on the part of the man and an entry into a kind of
slavery on the part of the woman; yet this is the object actually aimed
at by a false philanthropy, utterly unacquainted with the conditions
prevailing in these regions. One must entirely approve, therefore, when
Passarge, at present the best authority on, and the most faithful
delineator of, conditions in the Central Sudan, states that: ‘The
abolition of slavery, even supposing it were generally successful, would
mean the ruin of agriculture and the creation of a state of chaos.’[452]
People at home often take offence at the mere word ‘slave’, and connect
it in their thoughts with such a state of things as was described in
_Uncle Tom’s Cabin_. The entire opposite was rather the case. The
‘slave’ experiences, once he has found a master, an almost invariably
mild treatment on the part of his owner, who is dependent on him in many
respects. The ‘slaves’ often enjoy a comparatively large amount of
personal freedom, dwell in their own villages, and live under far better
conditions than many free men, whilst in general the difference between
free men and slaves is by no means obvious. Generally speaking, the term
‘serfdom’, as proposed by Passarge, would be much more suitable to this
condition than ‘slavery’; but even this term is not altogether accurate
for the Chad countries, seeing that in Germany, for example, the serfs,
not so very long ago, could seldom emerge from their subordinate
condition. Very different was the case in the Sudan. Many slaves have
risen here to wealth and great influence—such as one or other of the
eunuchs of the court of Bornu or this or that kachella, who was
originally a slave—and, indeed, as a foreign and therefore invigorating
element, have played a not unimportant rôle in politics.[453]
The last great events which had a definite bearing on the social
condition of the population, were the conquest of Bornu by Rabeh and his
final overthrow; these occurred only a decade ago. The result of these
events was, owing to the facile character of the Kanuri, less a
destructive than a transforming, perhaps even a stimulating one—thanks
to the new elements introduced into the country. A few years after these
events, the thickly inhabited districts of Bornu—if one excepts Kukawa
or Dikoa—nowhere give the impression of being countries which a short
time ago were ravaged by the furies of war. Besides, one should take
into consideration that the traces of devastation and destruction are
soon effaced in these latitudes. What is more important is the fact that
very soon after the overthrow of Rabeh, the chief hindrance to the
development of prosperity in this part of the Sudan—that is to say,
slave-raiding—also ceased to exist.
The districts from which originated practically all the slaves who in
former days reached the markets of Mourzuk or Tripoli—that is to say,
the rich Musgu country—are still at the present day the best populated
part of Bornu, nay, even of the Interior of Africa, and may indeed
compare in this respect with the centres of population of many European
industrial districts.[454] But many other tracts of Bornu, with its
fertile lowlands, afford the same delightful prospect. Under this
category, for example, falls village after village on the right bank of
the Yedseram between Isga and Malematari. In all this district there is
no poverty or difficulty in supporting life; everywhere there is
prosperity and the unmistakable traces of a comfortable existence. Even
the hills on the border are everywhere thickly inhabited, however
inhospitable and inaccessible they may appear.[455]
Nachtigal attempted to ascertain the population of Bornu on the same
basis as Barth’s estimate, and, like his predecessor, fixed the numbers
at 5,000,000 for the whole of Bornu.[456] It is evident, however, that
in this estimate the majority of the Musgu were not included in the
reckoning, for the traveller’s route only allowed him to perceive the
small part which at that time had yet been explored. Bearing this fact
in mind and, further, taking into consideration the peaceful development
of the country during the last ten years, one may certainly add to-day
half a million to the figures of Barth and Nachtigal. Of the numbers
thus obtained, at least one-third come from the specially thickly
populated portion of Bornu that belongs to Germany.[457]
To watch over the peaceful development of the country, to keep an eye on
anything that affects it, and to suggest the policy to be followed, is
the business of the Residents appointed by the Colonial Powers; they are
merely the advisers of the native chiefs, to whom must be left the
direct jurisdiction over these territories according to the degree of
civilization prevailing in each. It should be the prime duty of the
European officials under all circumstances to prevent a return to the
former state of affairs, i.e. mutual hostility between the pagans and
Mohammedans—which would immediately degenerate again into slave-
raiding—to make skilful use of existing divisions, but wherever possible
to bridge them over. But this is all the more difficult since the pagan
natives, remembering the former slave-raids, regard as an enemy any one
of a different colour to themselves. Only a many years’ acquaintance
with the peculiarities of the country can supply a key to a political
system which is full of pitfalls. Though one cannot suppose that the
Europeans responsible for the administration will possess the same
intimate knowledge of native languages and customs as was displayed by
Barth and Nachtigal, nevertheless the mastery of at least one of the
locally spoken idioms, whether Arabic, Kanuri, Hausa, or Fulani, is
absolutely necessary if their efforts are to be really useful. If
anywhere, this holds good of the Central Sudan, where so many threads of
North African tribal life are interwoven, and where all conditions and
events are under the fixed control of the particularly well-organized
sect of the Senussi,[458] which, though they hardly reach so far, are
the moving spirit of the Pan-Islamic movement in North-East Africa, and
whose activity was already noticed by Nachtigal.[459] It is this last
circumstance especially that prescribes rules for the other colonizing
factor which brings the native into touch with European culture, i.e.
for the missionaries, rules which must differ from those which hold good
for the rest of Africa. In spite of unmistakable religious tolerance, at
least on the part of the Kanuri, the dominant race, it must not be
forgotten that Islam, to which the country owes its ancient pre-eminence
in the Sudan, has lost no ground to speak of, but on the contrary is
engaged in steadily advancing. Only the very greatest patience on the
part of Christian missionaries, careful conduct and a systematic advance
from an assured base on the coast, can enable them to conquer this
country. The slightest precipitancy would not only for ever put in
question the results of missionary labour, but would have a most fatal
effect on the whole political state of the country. This is especially
true to-day of places where lack of suitable international arrangements
has given the European Powers no opportunity of showing the great
development of authority lately established in these distant
regions.[460]
The chief industry of Bornu is agriculture, for which the necessary
conditions exist to a degree they scarcely do elsewhere in tropical
countries. The unstinted praise which Barth assigns to the Southern
Musgu country as ‘the most fruitful and most richly watered tract in the
world’,[461] holds equally true of many other districts of the
Sultanate. No district is really bad, for even the ‘firki’ regions
which, owing to the quickness with which they dry up, are to-day almost
useless,[462] could certainly be made productive by the employment of a
more highly developed system of husbandry. There are wide tracts in the
lowlands of Bornu that present a field for agriculture of unparalleled
extent. What an abundance of all the necessaries of life are to-day
wrung from the soil by means of the primitive hoe, and what might not be
produced by the mere introduction of the plough! It cannot be doubted
that the intelligent and industrious natives, who exhibit such an
exemplary system of horticulture with the most primitive implements, and
who have long been aware of the value of artificial manuring, would soon
grasp the advantages of the plough.[463] A suitable draught animal, the
humped ox, is everywhere available, and that it is suited to use with
the plough has been sufficiently proved by experiments undertaken in the
Southern Kameruns.[464]
Pretty well every agricultural product of the Sudan is produced in Bornu
in abundance, and certainly far cheaper than almost anywhere else in
Central Africa, a circumstance to which Barth drew especial
attention.[465] Of greater significance is the fact that the plant which
at the present day has the greatest importance in world-commerce, i.e.
cotton, has for ages been cultivated in Bornu. The good cotton produced
in the country, which is manufactured in large quantities by the natives
of the Sudan, proves as a matter of fact to be far superior to the cheap
cotton goods imported from Europe.[466] And yet it is all produced by
the primitive means of a native loom. Barth repeatedly emphasizes the
fact that far from all of the soil of Bornu suited to the production of
cotton is thus utilized.[467] What possibilities, therefore, are
disclosed for this branch of agriculture by the utilization of all
cotton soils after the introduction of better quality seed, and, above
all, of a more intensive method of cultivation. Bornu, with its regular
climate, is in a far more favourable position than many other cotton
centres—such, for example, as the Southern States of North America, with
their weather conditions which are never to be depended upon—and
doubtless has a future before it so far as this product is
concerned.[468]
Although the other vegetable products of Bornu cannot compete in
importance with cotton, still the cultivation of many valuable
agricultural products, which to-day play an important part in the export
statistics of other African countries, could likewise experience an
important increase. To this category belong especially ground-nuts and
sesame.
Stock-raising has always received the same attention in Bornu as
agriculture. The principal branch of this is cattle-breeding. One gets
an idea of the enormous wealth of Bornu in cattle when one reads the
descriptions of the Musgu country. Kund estimates that in these
districts, where village joins village, a single place of some 100 farms
possesses from 200 to 250 head of cattle.[469] Even if one takes into
consideration that all districts are not suited for stock-raising,
especially those where large stretches of forest make cattle-keeping
difficult, still one may assume that Bornu is one of the richest
countries in cattle of the whole of the Dark Continent. Flocks of sheep
and goats are in places by no means inconsiderable, but they are
generally met with in districts of Bornu less favoured by nature.[470]
From the proximity of the Sahara it is only natural that camel- and
horse-breeding should have been undertaken in Bornu from early times.
Although the prospects of camel-breeding have proved to be poor owing to
reasons already mentioned, horse-breeding still flourishes, encouraged
as it is by the possibility of always importing fresh stock from the
North to reinvigorate the breed.[471] Nevertheless, it appears that this
branch of industry has not attained the development since Denham and
Barth’s times that one might have expected from the descriptions of
these travellers. At a review Barth saw 10,000 horses at one spot—this,
indeed, comprised the entire mounted force of the country—but it is
doubtful whether at the present day this number could be again
assembled, though one must also take into consideration that the
occasion for such an assembly has disappeared for ever.
The existence of such a high development of agriculture, including the
important occupations of cotton-growing and stock-raising, is bound to
entail among a numerous population many forms of industry. It is not
necessary to recapitulate here the industrial productions of the
country; they have already been mentioned in the description of the
various tribes. This much is certain, that everything which the
industries of Bornu have accomplished—not only in the production of
textile and leather goods—shows that the task of the European merchant
here of creating wants and finding markets for native manufactures has
already to a great extent been fulfilled. In this connexion it is to be
remembered that Bornu was perhaps the first of the Mohammedan countries
of Central Africa to enter into commercial relations with foreign
nations, and thus came early into touch with Western products.[472]
A further proof of the commercial spirit of the population of Bornu is
the comparatively highly developed form of currency which Barth found
already in existence. Besides the very common system of barter,
purchases for cash were at that time usual everywhere. The oldest medium
for reckoning was a fixed weight of copper, the ‘Rottl’, a term which
has remained even to-day as the unit of computation even after the
introduction of other and commoner forms of currency. To these forms of
currency belong the cotton-strips called ‘gabaga’, four of which go to
one ‘Rottl’. At that time and until quite lately the Maria Theresa
dollar,[473] a medium of reckoning which is very widely distributed in
the Mohammedan world, was also current as well as that peculiar
substitute for coin, the cowry-shell; in Barth’s and Nachtigal’s time
the exchange was 3,000 to 4,000 cowries to the dollar and 32 to the
‘Rottl’.[474] Although the rate of exchange was fixed, still important
fluctuations took place and always made cash transactions somewhat
complicated.[475] It is only quite recently that European currency has
been officially introduced and made available by the Colonial Powers,
but naturally it is only able to supersede very gradually the medium of
reckoning hitherto customary.
According to Rohlfs, the reason of the high development of trade in
Bornu is the ‘absolute freedom of trade and industry’ and the freedom of
all goods from tolls.[476] Nachtigal, however, mentions a kind of river-
toll on the Logone, and similar arrangements of a more local nature may
even still be found.[477]
How these trade relations—which naturally depend on the interchange of
goods by the Sudan peoples among themselves—will shape in the future it
is not yet possible to foresee. But this much is certain, that the chief
objects of export and the lines which they take will have quite changed
within a few years. Both certainly depend on the same causes.
In Barth’s time slaves were still the chief export of Bornu,[478] and
even when Rohlfs visited the country things had altered little, as is
proved by the figures previously quoted. Nachtigal says, not much later,
that the exports of Bornu are confined ‘almost entirely to slaves,
ostrich feathers, and ivory’. This traveller was the first to notice a
distinct falling off in the most important ‘article’—a natural result of
the restrictions that had begun to be enforced on the slave-trade.[479]
But it is only in quite recent years that the export of slaves across
the Great Desert to the shores of the Mediterranean has ceased. Ivory as
well as living merchandise has now ceased to be an important article of
export, owing to the war of extermination waged for many years against
the elephant. Moreover, the quantity of ostrich feathers produced in
Bornu was not important enough to influence trade. But it was these
three chief Bornu products alone that made remunerative the caravan
trade across the Desert, inseparable as this trade was from so much risk
and expense.[480] The efforts of individual Tripoli merchants to
maintain trade along the old routes in spite of quite altered
conditions—by importing the goods hitherto customary and exporting the
excellent Bornu leather—cannot be considered to have much vitality,
especially as the condition of the Sahara has become more and more
insecure.[481] The restless robber tribes of the Desert, Tuareg and
others, who were formerly dependent on the caravan trade, on which they
levied voluntary or involuntary tolls, have pushed southwards, seeking
new sources of subsistence, and have thus not only rendered conditions
in the northern parts of Bornu increasingly precarious, but have also
made trade along the old routes almost entirely impossible.[482] This
circumstance has contributed materially to assist—partially at any
rate—the development of the natural artery of commerce for the Central
Sudan, the Niger-Benue route advocated long ago by Barth and
Rohlfs.[483] Thus the apprehensions of the Arab merchants, who have been
intriguing for the last sixty years against European competition, have
been realized.[484] As a matter of fact the Niger-Benue route is the
only natural one by which the products of the Central Sudan, especially
ground-nuts, shea-butter, sesame, and gum-arabic, articles of extremely
low intrinsic value, can be conveyed to the coast. Only when it was
possible to bring these products to the coast in considerable
quantities, and when cotton—and that, too, in large quantities—was added
to them, was the existing natural water-way made use of, so far as this
was possible. But there is no doubt that the importance of the Niger-
Benue route, in consideration of the poverty of natural means of
communication between the Central Sudan and the coast, has always been
overrated. Any one who has once made the wearisome canoe journey up the
Benue, lasting at least four weeks in the dry weather, when progress is
often only possible by digging artificial canals, will not estimate too
highly the value of this water-way. It is not till July that the water
of this river, which rises very rapidly and increases many feet in
depth, reaches such a height that large steamers can reach German
Adamawa; but by October the water begins to fall with the same rapidity,
and steamers which have not got away at the right time have to stick
where they are and await the next rainy season before they can return.
All merchandise that cannot be shipped on steamers during the rains must
either be entrusted to the very costly and insecure canoe transport or
be stored to await a more favourable opportunity for shipment. It may be
imagined what an unfavourable influence these periodic possibilities of
shipment have, for example, on the sale of cotton, an article which is
subject to such considerable fluctuations both in supply and demand.
Canoe transport would be quite out of the question for the utilization
of other agricultural products, especially of course for a trade in
cattle. This means of transport is so dear even for the importation of
the European goods in vogue in the Sudan, that the Hamburg firm of
Pagenstecher, trading in German Bornu, has had to withdraw the
‘factories’ which it had pushed forward to Dikoa and Kusseri, as they
could not show a profit.[485] As regards German Bornu the water-ways,
which for the greater part lie in British territory, have also the
disadvantage that though navigation on the rivers is free in accordance
with international agreements, still there is an inevitable control by
the British of German trade, which under the circumstances is not at all
convenient.
But the German colony of the Kameruns is in a fortunate position, for by
far the shortest ideal line of connexion between the sea and Bornu,
which may be regarded as the focus-point of the Sudan, runs through
their territory; this line is the one from the Bight of Biafra to Lake
Chad. It is the urgent duty of the German Empire to make use of this
fortunate circumstance.
Barth, Rohlfs, and Nachtigal with one accord perceived many years ago
the high value of the Chad countries, and any one who has personal
knowledge of them will gladly join in Nachtigal’s dictum that ‘there may
be many tropical countries in which, thanks to mighty rivers and the
alternation of mountain and valley, Nature may seem more stupendous and
more opulent, beauty more sublime, vegetation more luxuriant, and the
soil more fruitful, but there is scarcely any country in Central Africa
which, if the efforts of mankind corresponded to the powers of the soil,
offers a more beneficent prospect of rapid development’.[486]
Nevertheless, this development cannot proceed at the rate which this
rich and fortunate country deserves. The fault lies with the
insufficiency of its natural trade routes. Nothing but a railway can
change this; it alone could render possible a full utilization of the
rich cotton soil and of the other resources of the country. The
conditions are very favourable, for the technical difficulties of
railway building from the Bight of Biafra to Lake Chad are not too
great, and the line—whose first stage from Bonaberi to the Manenguba
Hills will be ready in 1910—is nowhere intended to be a trunk line,
since everywhere it will pass through districts capable of development.
The railway will be the first thing to disclose, as they deserve, the
high value of the Chad countries; without it they have lain hitherto
like the dead and useless stock on a merchant’s shelves.
[Footnote 448: Bauer, p. 137.]
[Footnote 449: Barth, ii. 417.]
[Footnote 450: Barth, iii. 112 (German edition).]
[Footnote 451: Rohlfs, i. 316; Nachtigal, i. 701.]
[Footnote 452: Passarge, p. 526.]
[Footnote 453: Cf. Barth, ii. 151, iii. 273; Rohlfs, ii. 2; Nachtigal,
i. 715, 722; Passarge, p. 527.]
[Footnote 454: Cf. Stieber, _loc. cit._, p. 84.]
[Footnote 455: As regards the density of population in the hill country,
it is worthy of note that Zimmermann estimates the population of he
Mandara Highlands at 250,000. Zimmermann, _loc. cit._, p. 464.]
[Footnote 456: Nachtigal, ii. 441.]
[Footnote 457: This figure indeed differs widely from the official
estimate given for the total population for the whole of the Kameruns,
viz. 1,300,000. Passarge very rightly doubts the correctness of the
official statement, and estimates that there are at least 2,700,000
inhabitants in the Kameruns (_Kamerun im Jahre 1907-1908, Koloniale
Rundschau_, 1909, p. 517). But even this figure appears to me much too
low. [The official figure for the British Province of Bornu on April 1,
1911, was 674,230.]]
[Footnote 458: [The Senussi have proved a fruitful source of inspiration
to alarmist writers, both in England and on the Continent. The influence
of the Senussi in Bornu is nil, nor is it likely to spread there. The
majority of the Kanuri belong to the Tojani or Tijani sect of Islam. The
Tojani and the Senussi are about as likely to co-operate as a Puseyite
and a Plymouth Brother, or rather as a Kensit preacher and a Broad
Churchman. The following remarks, taken from Professor Margoliouth’s
monograph on ‘Mohammedanism’, recently published, bear on the point. On
p. 184 he says: ‘Senussi’s idea was to unite Moslems against European
influence, from which he failed to dissociate that of the Turks. In the
heart of Africa he proposed to found an Islamic state, whither all
Moslems who wished to be quit of these pernicious influences could
resort for refuge. . . . His doctrine savoured strongly of Wahhabism in
respect of its puritanism, e.g. prohibition of tobacco and music. . . .
So far as they have interfered in disputes between tribes and
governments, it appears to have been with a view to conciliation.’ Again
on p. 221 he says: ‘The Tijanis of North Africa used to be mentioned as
an exceptional case of an order which has favoured the power of France.’
Cf. p. 333 of the present work.
In this connexion M. Landeroin remarks, _Doc. sc._, ii. 528: ‘It is
pretty generally supposed that the tribes between the Niger and the Chad
have all been Islamized, whereas in reality Islam has not penetrated
very far into the heart of the population. Its propagation was favoured
by the Arab merchants, and above all, by the Fulani . . . but the
attachment of the natives for this religion seems never to have been
more than outward, . . . and its practice seems to be decreasing more
and more since the occupation of the country by France and England.
Since Fulani, Arabs, and Tuaregs have had to yield to the Christians,
and it no longer appears politic to flatter the masters of the country
by adopting their religious beliefs, the mass of the population is
quietly returning to their ancient and simple fetish practices, only
retaining certain external appearances of Islam.’
If this means that Mohammedanism in Nigeria is only skin-deep, it is
perfectly true. On the other hand, it is equally true that, at any rate,
nominal adhesion to Islam is spreading among the pagans. For a detailed
account of Islamic sects vid. Depont and Coppolani, _Les Confréries
religieuses musulmanes_, Algiers, 1897; but I think they are wrong in
showing on their map a Senussi ‘zauwia’ at Kuka. The Sarikin Mussulmi of
Sokoto is, I believe, Kaderiya. In jurisprudence Bornu follows the
Hanafi school, cf. Denham, Appendix V, and foot-note thereto by A.
Salame, official Arabic translator to the Foreign Office; and Benton,
_Notes, &c._, p. 200; Sokoto follows the Maliki school.]]
[Footnote 459: Nachtigal, i. 192; ii. 50.]
[Footnote 460: As early as 1903 two American missionaries made a
temporary stay in the Central Sudan (British Adamawa), but had to retire
owing to total lack of means.]
[Footnote 461: Barth, iii. 236.]
[Footnote 462: [On the contrary, large crops of ‘masakwa’ or dry weather
corn are grown on the ‘firki’ soil. This soil is generally known as
‘black cotton soil’, apparently on the ‘lucus a non lucendo’ principle:
it is not black but grey, and cotton is never grown on it.]]
[Footnote 463: [The Catholic Fathers at Tshendam in Muri Province are
trying to teach the natives the use of the plough, and some men and oxen
have been sent from British Bornu to learn. Men who have had practical
experience of farming in the Tropics have grave doubts of the success of
ploughing. Land in the Tropics must be frequently allowed to lie fallow,
and the labour expended in stumping the land would more than outweigh
the labour saved by the use of the plough. Only experience can show
whether this opinion is correct.]]
[Footnote 464: Dominik, p. 219.]
[Footnote 465: Barth, ii. 313. Provisions were accordingly one quarter
cheaper in Kukawa than in Timbuctoo, one-third cheaper than in Kano, and
half the price of those in Katsena and Sokoto. Cf. also Nachtigal, i.
692 ff.]
[Footnote 466: Cf. also Nachtigal, i. 648.]
[Footnote 467: Barth, iii. 282.]
[Footnote 468: [With the present means of transport the export of cotton
from Bornu is totally out of the question. Even if railway transport
were provided, it is extremely doubtful if the export, at the present
price of cotton, would pay.]]
[Footnote 469: Kund, _loc. cit._, p. 28.]
[Footnote 470: [Experiments are being made in sending cattle and sheep
from Bornu to Lagos via the railway at Kano.]]
[Footnote 471: Cf. Rohlfs, i. 343.]
[Footnote 472: Nachtigal mentions among the European products imported
into Bornu, via Tripoli and Murzuk, textile fabrics, paper, perfumery,
and especially cutlery from England, Solingen, and Steiermark.
Nachtigal, i. 697 ff.; cf. also Dominik, p. 163 ff.]
[Footnote 473: It is essential that the coin has the date 1780 to be
accepted as currency. Such dollars were specially minted at Trieste
until recently for use in the Sudan. [The importation of these dollars
into British territory is now forbidden, but they are still imported
into French and German country. Their intrinsic value is about 1_s._
6_d._, but their exchange value in Bornu is at present 3_s._, though of
course it fluctuates. The value of any particular dollar depends on its
condition, which is decided by whether or not the brooch on the Queen’s
shoulder is visible. This of course gives the native a much valued
opportunity for haggling. The date on them (1780) is always the same,
doubtless for convenience of minting, but I have twice seen genuine
Austrian dollars in circulation, one was a Maria Theresa coin of
different design and date, and the other was a Francis I. The native
word for a dollar—‘gurus’ or ‘grush’—is said to be a corruption of
‘groschen’, vid. Decorse, _Rabah et les Arabes du Chari_, p. 56. Carbou,
_L’Arabe parlé au Ouaday_, p. 132, states that dollars have been coined
by the French Mint for the African trade.]]
[Footnote 474: [Thirty-two cowries to the ‘rottl’ or ‘rattal’ still
holds good.]]
[Footnote 475: Barth, ii. 310; Nachtigal, ii. 690.]
[Footnote 476: Rohlfs, i. 347. The dollar which the recognized broker
obtains for every horse and camel sold by auction does not seem to be
regarded by Rohlfs as a tax.]
[Footnote 477: Nachtigal, ii. 541.]
[Footnote 478: Barth, ii. 339.]
[Footnote 479: Nachtigal, i. 700 ff.]
[Footnote 480: Rohlfs, i. 351.]
[Footnote 481: [The following trade figures of produce purchased by the
Niger Company’s station at Nafada on the Gongola have been kindly
supplied by their agent there, Mr. C. W. Allen. The bulk of the produce
comes from Bornu, though some comes from Bauchi Province. As will be
seen, the figure for ostrich feathers is enormous. The war in Tripoli
has diverted the feather trade to Nafada. Few of the feathers come from
British Bornu, mostly from French country across the Shari. European
ostrich farms are now being started there by private enterprise.
1912.
Ostrich Feathers 15,772½ lb.
Red, undyed skins 52,020 Pcs.
T
Gum-arabic 56 11 2 2
Gutta-percha 8 1 2 8½
Beeswax 2 1 26
Cow-hides 1,638 Pcs.
Native Silk 1 5
]]
[Footnote 482: [The Kano railway and the Tripoli War have put the last
nail in the coffin of the caravan trade. Arabs are already beginning to
leave Tripoli and settle in Kano.]]
[Footnote 483: Barth, iii. 220, and Rohlfs, i. 351.]
[Footnote 484: Barth, ii. 344.]
[Footnote 485: According to a written communication from the head of the
firm of Pagenstecher to the writer (July 24, 1909).]
[Footnote 486: Nachtigal, ii. 387; cf. also Barth, iii. 162 ff. (German
edition); Rohlfs, i. 351, and Reclus, p. 658.]
IX
LIST OF AUTHORITIES
ALIS, HARRY [pseudonym of J. H. Percher]. _A la conquête du Tchad._
Paris, 1891.
—— _Nos Africains._ Paris, 1894.
AMBRONN, L. Bericht über die astronomisch-geodätischen Beobachtungen der
Expedition zur Festlegung der Grenze Yola-Tschadsee. _Mitt. aus den
deutsch. Schutzgeb._, Bd. xviii, 1905.
AUDOIN, M. Notice hydrographique sur le lac Tchad, in _La Géographie_,
vol. xii (1905), p. 305 ff.
BARTH, DR. HEINRICH. Briefliche Mitteilungen des Herrn v. Beurmann an
Dr. Heinr. Barth in _Zeitschr. f. allg. Erdkunde_, Bd. xv (1863), p. 274
ff.
—— Die Bestätigung der Todesnachricht des Herrn M. von Beurmann, _idem_,
p. 538 ff.
—— _Reisen und Entdeckungen in Nord- und Central-Afrika in den Jahren
1849-55._ 5 Bde. Gotha, 1857-8. [English edition, _Travels and
Discoveries in North and Central Africa_, 5 vols. There is also an
abridged edition in one volume in the Minerva Library.]
BAUER, FRITZ. _Die deutsche Niger-Benue-Tsadsee-Expedition, 1902-3._
Berlin, 1904.
CHEVALIER, AUG. De l’Oubangui au lac Tchad à travers le bassin du Chari.
_La Géographie_, ix (1904), p. 343 ff.
CHUDEAU, R. D’Alger à Tombouctou par l’Alhaggar, l’Aïr et le Tchad, _La
Géographie_, vol. xv (1907), p. 261 ff.; and L’Aïr et la région de
Zinder, _idem_, p. 321 ff.
DENHAM. _Narrative of Travels and Discoveries in Northern and Central
Africa_, by Major Denham, F.R.S., Captain Clapperton, R.N., and the late
Doctor Oudney. 2 vols. London, 1826. [This is the second edition. The
first edition was in one volume, quarto (1826), and contained
vocabularies of Bornu, Begharmi, Mandara, and Timbuctoo languages, and
appendices on Zoology, Botany, Geology, and Meteorology omitted in
subsequent editions.]
DESTENAVE. Exploration des Iles du Tchad. _La Géographie_, vii (1903),
p. 420.
—— Reconnaissance géographique de la région du Tchad. _Idem_, p. 157.
DOMINIK, H. Bericht über die Gebiete zwischen dem oberen Benuë und dem
Tsardsee, in _Deutsch. Kolonialbl._, xiv. Jahrg.
—— _Vom Atlantik zum Tschadsee._ Berlin, 1908.
D’HUART. Le Tchad et ses habitants. _La Géographie_, ix (1904), p. 161.
EHRENBERG, PROF. Briefliche Mitteilungen des Herrn von Beurmann an Prof.
Ehrenberg, in _Zeitschr. f. allg. Erdkunde_, Bd. xv (1863), p. 287 ff.
FOUREAU, F. _D’Alger au Congo par le Tchad._ Paris, 1902.
—— _Documents scientifiques de la Mission Saharienne._ 2 vols. Paris,
1903-4.
FREYDENBERG. Explorations dans le bassin du Tchad, in _La Géographie_,
Bd. xv (1907), p. 161 ff.
GENTIL, E. _La Chute de l’empire de Rabah._ Paris, 1902.
HASSERT, DR. KURT. _Deutschlands Kolonien._ Leipzig, 1909.
IBN BATUTA (1353). In _Collection d’ouvrages orientaux publiée par la
Société Asiatique_, vol. iv. Paris, 1858, p. 441 ff.
IBN CHALDUN (1381-2). _Ibn Khaldoun, Histoire des Berbères, traduite par
de Slane_, vol. ii. Alger, 1854.
LENFANT, E. A. De l’Atlantique au Tchad par la Bénoué, in _La
Géographie_, ix (1904), p. 321 ff.
—— _La Grande Route du Tchad._ Paris, 1905.
LEO AFRICANUS (1528). Description de l’Afrique, escrite par Jean Leo
African. Nouvelle édition annotée par Ch. Schefer, vol. iii. In _Recueil
de voyages et de documents_, Paris, 1898, p. 308 ff. [English edition
translated and collected by John Pory, 1600.]
LUGARD, SIR F. D. Northern Nigeria. Memorandum on the taxation of
natives in Northern Nigeria. In _Colonial Reports_, London, 1907.
MARQUARDSEN, H. _Der Niger-Benuë._ Berlin, 1909.
—— Die geographische Erforschung des Tschadsee-Gebietes bis zum Jahre
1905, in _Mitteil. aus den deutsch. Schutzgeb._, Bd. xviii, p. 318 ff.
MASSARI. Bericht in _Bollettino della Società Geografica Italiana_, 6,
1881, vol. xviii, p. 811 ff.
MÖCKLER-FERRYMAN, A. F. _British Nigeria._ London, 1902.
MOISEL, M. Begleitworte zu der Karte 3, ‘Der deutsche Logone und seine
Nachbargebiete’ in _Mitteil. aus den deutsch. Schutzgeb._, Bd. xviii, p.
179 ff. _Idem_, Schipper, Bemerkungen, &c.
MONTEIL, P. L. _De Saint-Louis à Tripoli par le lac Tchad._ Paris, 1894.
NACHTIGAL, DR. GUSTAV. _Saharâ und Sudân_, Bd. i, ii, und iii. Berlin,
1879, 1881, 1889. [There is a French translation by J. Gourdault.]
OPPENHEIM, MAX FREIHERR V. _Rabeh und das Tschadseegebiet._ Berlin,
1902.
PASSARGE, DR. SIEGFRIED. _Adamaua._ Berlin, 1895.
POLKO, ELISE. _Erinnerungen an einen Verschollenen. Aufzeichnungen und
Briefe von und über Eduard Vogel._ Leipzig, 1863. [The authoress was
Vogel’s sister.]
PUTTKAMER, V. Bericht über seine Reise in das Tschadsee-Gebiet, in
_Deutsch. Kolonialbl._, xv. Jahrg.
RECLUS, ÉLISÉE. _Nouvelle Géographie Universelle_, vol. xii. Paris,
1887.
REICHENBACH, E. STROMER VON. _Die Geologie der deutschen Schutzgebiete
in Afrika._ München, 1896.
ROHLFS, GERHARD. _Quer durch Afrika._ 2 vols. Leipzig, 1874.
SCHWEINFURTH, DR. G. Bericht über die von M. v. Beurmann 1862 aus dem
mittleren Sudân eingesandten Pflanzenproben; in _Zeitschr. f. allg.
Erdkunde_, Bd. xv (1863), p. 293 ff.
STIEBER. Bericht über seine Reise in das Gebiet der Musgus.
_Kolonialbl._, xvi. Jahrg., p. 81 ff.
TILHO, JEAN. Exploration du lac Tchad, in _La Géographie_, vol. xii
(1905), p. 195 ff.
VOGEL, EDUARD. Briefe und Berichte, in _Petermann’s Mitteilungen_,
1855-7. Gotha.
ZIMMERMANN. Bericht über eine Bereisung des Mandara-Gebirges, &c., in
_Deutsch. Kolonialbl._, xvii. Jahrg. (1906).
[In addition to the above-mentioned there are various books and articles
which have appeared since the publication of the German original of this
monograph, or which escaped its author’s notice. For many titles I am
indebted to Joucla’s _Bibliographie de l’Afrique Occidentale Française_,
and to a _Bibliography of the Sudan_ printed by Dr. Karl Kumm, a copy of
which was kindly sent me by the author; also to Struck’s ‘Linguistic
Bibliography of Northern Nigeria’, in the _African Society’s Journal_.
Items which I have not been able to examine myself are marked with an
asterisk (*).—P. A. B.]
ADELUNG, J. C., and J. S. VATER. _Mithridates_. Berlin, 1812, Part III,
pp. 232-5.
AL-BAKRI. Reprint of de Slane’s edition. Algiers, 1910.
ALEXANDER, BOYD. _From the Niger to the Nile._ London, 1907.
—— Article on Lake Chad in _African Society’s Journal_ for April 1908.
—— _Boyd Alexander’s Last Journey_, edited by Herbert Alexander. London,
1912.
ALEXANDER, DR. DAVID. Article on Bornu ‘dubbo-dubbo’ or Punch and Judy,
in _Man_ for 1911.
_Annual Biography and Obituary._ Volume for 1829, contains short
obituaries of Denham and Clapperton.
BALBI, ADR. _Atlas ethnographique._ Paris, 1826, Tab. xxxix, No. 310.
Maiha.
BARRÈS, M. _Une Âme de Colonial. Lettres du Lieut.-Col. Moll avec une
préface de M. Maurice Barrès._ Paris, 1912. Cf. Eschevannes. [Does not
directly concern British Bornu, where, however, Col. Moll was both known
and admired.]
BARTH, DR. HEINRICH. _Central African Vocabularies._ 3 vols. Gotha, 1862
(in English and German).
—— Die Ausfragen des überlebenden Dieners Dr. E. Vogel’s über den Tod
seines Herrn, article in _Zeitschrift für allgemeine Erdkunde_, 1863, p.
248. [This includes the official report from Major Hermann, British
Consul at Tripoli. Amongst other things we learn that Vogel usually wore
a tobe and a turban, but that when he did don European dress it
consisted of a gold-laced cap, dark braided coat and black overalls.]
—— vid. also under Beurmann, and under Schubert.
BENTON, P. A. _Kanuri Readings._ London, 1911.
—— _Notes on Some Languages of the Western Sudan._ London, 1912.
BERLIN, DOROTHEA. _Erinnerungen an Gustav Nachtigal._ Berlin, Gebrüder
Paetel, 1887.
BEURMANN, MAURICE VON. Tod nebst Übersicht seiner Reisen (1861-3), sowie
derjenigen von Overweg (1850-2) und Vogel (1853-6), article by Barth in
_Petermann’s Mittheilungen_, 1864, p. 25. Map. [Beurmann visited Bauchi
(Jacoba) and returned via Fika in November, 1862. He also accompanied a
slave raid to Marghi and Chibuk in the same year.]
—— Briefliche Mittheilungen an Dr. H. Barth und Prof. Ehrenberg aus
Kuka, 7. Sept. und 24. Dec. 1862, printed in _Zeitschrift für allgemeine
Erdkunde_, 1863, p. 273.
*BRUEL, G. _L’Occupation du bassin du Tchad._ Moulins, 1902.
_Bulletin of the Imperial Institute_, 1908, vi. 47 and 175, and 1910,
viii. 352 and 402.
BURDON, MAJOR J. A., C.M.G. _Historical Notes on Certain Emirates and
Tribes_, selected and arranged by. Printed by Waterlow, 1909.
BURTON, SIR R. _Negro Wit and Wisdom._ London, 1865.
CARBOU, H. _Méthode pratique pour l’étude de l’arabe parlé au Ouadai et
à l’est du Tchad._ Paris, in-8, 1911.
—— _La Région du Tchad et du Ouadai._ 2 vols, Paris, 1912. [Includes
notes on the Tubu language.]
CASTELNAU, F. DE. _Renseignements sur l’Afrique Centrale et sur une
nation d’hommes à queue qui s’y trouverait, d’après le rapport des
nègres du Soudan, esclaves à Bahia._ Paris, 1851. [Contains information
from various slaves from Bornu taken to South America, and plates of
tribal marks. Also vocabularies of Hausa, Filani, Courami, and Java.]
CHEVALIER, A. _Mission Chari-Lac Tchad, 1902-4._ Paris, 1907.
CHUDEAU, R. _Missions au Sahara._ 2 vol. Paris, 1908-9. [Only the second
volume concerns the Sudan. Not much about Bornu. General survey of
geology, meteorology, &c.]
*—— _Les Bœufs du Nord du Tchad._ (As. Fr. Av. Sc. Clermont-Ferrand, L.
xxxvii, pp. 1061-3, 1 fig.)
CLAPPERTON, H. _Journal of a Second Expedition into the Interior of
Africa from the Bight of Benin to Soccatoo._ London, 1829.
—— vid. Denham.
CORDENOY, H. J. DE. _Gommes, Résines d’origine exotique et Végétaux qui
les produisent._ Paris, Challamel, 1900.
CORNET, CAPITAINE. _Au Tchad._ Paris, 1910. Plon Nourrit. [Deals chiefly
with the Shari and with the country north of Chad.]
CUHN, E. W. _Reisen in das Innere von Africa._ Leipzig, 1790, p. 256;
cf. p. 242.
CUST, R. N. _Modern Languages of Africa._ 2 vols. London, 1883.
DECHAMBRE, P. Les Moutons de l’Afrique Occidentale, article in _Revue
coloniale_ for August, 1905. [The same article is also printed in the
_Bulletin de la Société languedocienne de Géographie_, vol. xxviii,
Montpellier, 1905.]
—— Les Bovins du Soudan, article in _Revue coloniale_ for June, 1905.
[Deals chiefly with Senegal Fulani cattle and their diseases.]
*DECHAMBRE ET HEIM. _Notes sur quelques races bovines de l’Afrique
Occidentale._ Paris, 1908. A. Challamel.
DECORSE, DR. J. Le tatouage, les mutilations ethniques et la parure chez
les populations du Soudan, article in _L’Anthropologie_, 1905, p. 129.
*—— Élevage de l’autruche en Afrique Occidentale française, in _Agric.
prat. des pays chauds_, vii, 1907, 2e semaine, pp. 121-33.
—— _Mission Chari-Lac Tchad, 1902-4 : Du Congo au Lac Tchad._ Paris,
1906.
DECORSE ET DEMOMBYNES. Budduma and Kury Vocabularies, in _Actes du XIVe
Congrès des Orientalistes_. Alger, 1905.
—— _Rabah et les Arabes du Chari._ Paris, N.D.
DELEVOYE, Enseigne de Vaisseau, Second de la Mission Lenfant (1903-4).
_En Afrique Centrale (Niger-Benoué-Tchad)._ Paris, 1906. [On p. 127 he
mentions meeting McCarthy Morrogh at Ngornu and giving him the first
dish of fried potatoes ever seen on Lake Chad!]
*DESTENAVE. Le Lac Tchad, article in _Revue générale des Sciences_,
1912, pp. 649, 661, and 717.
*DUBOIS. Bas Chari, rive sud du Tchad et Bahr el Ghazal, article in
_Annales de Géographie_, xii, July 1903.
DUJARRIC, GASTON. _Vie du Sultan Rabah._ Paris, 1902.
EDRISI. _Description de l’Afrique et de l’Espagne._ Texte arabe et
traduction par R. Dozy et M. J. de Goeje. Leyden, 1866. E. J. Brill.
_Encyclopaedia of Islam_ (now in course of publication by Luzac & Co.,
London). [The article on Bornu is not up to date and contains various
misprints.]
ESCHERICH, K. _Die Termiten oder weissen Ameisen_, Leipzig, 1909. [Many
illustrations.]
ESCHEVANNES, C. D’. _Henry Moll, d’après sa correspondance._ Imprimerie
de l’Union Typographique. Domois-Dijon. [1911?] [Col. Moll was killed in
action at Dridjelé in Wadai on Nov. 9, 1910. He had previously been
stationed in Zinder, 1901, was on the Anglo-French Niger-Chad Boundary
Commission, 1903-4, and from 1909-10 was in charge of the Territoire
Militaire du Tchad. Cf. Barrès.]
FALCONER, J. W. _Geology and Geography of Northern Nigeria._ London,
1910. [The author was head of the Government Mineral Survey Party, and
is now Lecturer on Geography in Glasgow University.]
—— _On Horseback through Nigeria._ London, 1911.
*FRANCO, DE. _Étude sur l’élevage du cheval en Afrique Occidentale
française._ Melun, imp. administrative, 1905.
*FREIMARK, H. _Das Sexualleben der Afrikaner._ Berlin, 1911.
GADEN. _Notice sur la résidence de Zinder._ In-8, Paris, Lavauzelle,
1903. 2 francs. [Zinder is the capital of Damagaram, formerly subject to
Bornu. M. Gaden’s brochure describes the district historically,
geographically, &c., and is illustrated.]
—— Les États musulmans de l’Afrique Centrale et leurs rapports avec la
Mecque et Constantinople, article in _Questions diplomatiques et
coloniales_ for October, 1907. [Deals chiefly with the manufacture and
export of eunuchs.]
GARDE, G. _Description géologique des régions situées entre le Niger et
le Tchad._ Paris, 1911. 8 francs 50 centimes. [The author was the
geologist attached to the Anglo-French Boundary Commission in 1907.]
GUENTHER, KONRAD. _Gerhard Rohlfs. Lebensbild eines Afrikaforschers._
Freiburg i. Br., 1912. E. Fehsenfeld. [Includes numerous photos of
Rohlfs, his wife, his house, family tomb, &c.]
GUILLEUX (SERGENT). _Journal de route d’un caporal de tirailleurs._
(Mission Foureau-Lamy.) Belfort, 1905. Schmidt. [The author took part in
the defeat of Rabeh at Kusseri and the pursuit of Fadel Allah to Issege,
but went on leave before the final defeat and death of Fadel Allah at
Gujba. The author, or possibly a journalistic friend, writes in a very
flamboyant style. The key-note of the book may perhaps be described as
patriotism—with a touch of pornography; ‘Charge, Chester, charge,’ on
one page, and ‘Woman in our hours of ease’ on the next.]
HELD, T. V. _Märchen und Sagen der afrikanischen Neger._ Jena, 1904, p.
171.
HERTSLET, SIR E. _The Map of Africa by Treaty._ London, 1910.
HOEFFER, F. _Afrique Centrale: Soudan, Bornou, &c._ In-8, 1848. F.
Didot. [This forms vol. v of _L’Univers Pittoresque_, and is a mere
_réchauffé_ of Denham and Clapperton.]
*JOALLAND. De Zinder au Tchad et à la conquête du Kanem, article in _B.
S. Bretonne G. Lorient_, 1901, xix, 160-80.
JOUCLA, EDMOND. _Bibliographie de l’Afrique Occidentale française._
Paris, 1912.
KNOX, ALEXANDER. _The Climate of Africa._ London, 1912.
KOELLE, REV. S. W. _African Native Literature in Kanuri._ London, 1854.
—— _Kanuri Grammar._ London, 1854.
—— _Polyglotta Africana._ London, 1854. [Dr. Karl Kumm informs me that
many of Koelle’s unpublished manuscripts are now in his possession.]
KOENIG, M. Vocabulaires appartenant à divers contrées ou tribus de
l’Afrique, recueillis dans la Nubie supérieure, printed in _Rec. de
Voyages et de Mémoires_ pub. by the Soc. de Géogr., T. 4, Paris, 1839
(Arthus-Bertrand), pp. 129-97. Idiomes de Dar-Four et de Barnou, pp.
181-9.
KUMM, DR. KARL. _From Hausaland to Egypt._ London, 1910. [The page of
Kanuri sayings is composed of a few phrases from Koelle which were
confirmed by the author’s informants. The list of Bornu tribes is very
incorrect. The best thing about the book is the very fine series of
plates of butterflies.]
*LACOIN. Région de l’Oubanghi, du Chari et du Tchad, article in the
_Bulletin de la Société géologique de France_, 4th series, iii. 484.
LACROIX. Résultats minéralogiques et géologiques des récentes
explorations dans l’Afrique Occidentale française et la région du Tchad,
article in the _Revue coloniale_, nouvelle série, No. 25, pp. 207-13.
Paris, 1900.
LAME, CAPT., ET LIEUT. J. FERRANDI. Fort Lamy, chef-lieu du territoire
du Tchad, article in _Renseignements Col. Afrique française_ (1912),
101-11.
LANDEROIN. Vid. Tilho.
LOUVET. _Sur le mode de production de la gomme arabique dans les forêts
de gommiers._ In-8. 1876.
LUGARD, SIR F. D. Annual Reports on Northern Nigeria. 1901-6.
LUGARD, LADY. _A Tropical Dependency._ London, 1905.
LYON, CAPT. G. F., R.N. _Travels in Northern Africa._ London, 1821.
[Contains fine coloured plates. On p. 122 there is a short Kanuri
vocabulary and account of Bornu, obtained from traders. The following
fact I have not seen mentioned elsewhere: ‘Until a few years ago, when
the country became much improved under the mild government of a very
religious Moslem [i.e. Lamino], it was the custom to throw into the
stream [i.e. the Wobe] at the time of its rise a virgin richly dressed,
and of superior beauty. The greatest people of the country considered
themselves honoured if the preference was given to one of their
daughters, and the learned men augured a good or bad year from the ease
or difficulty with which their victim was drowned.’ The book also
contains Fulani, Hausa, and Tubu vocabularies.]
M‘DIARMID, JOHN. _Sketches from Nature._ Edinburgh, Oliver & Boyd;
London, Simpkin & Marshall, 1830. [M‘Diarmid was editor of the _Dumfries
Herald_. pp. 322-36 give a short account of Clapperton, quotations from
which are included in Nelson, q.v.]
MACLEOD, OLIVE. _Chiefs and Cities of Central Africa._ London, 1912.
_Magazin der merkwürdigen neuen Reisebeschreibungen._ Berlin, 1790-1811.
8vo. Vol. v, p. 330. Bornu Vokabeln.
*MARQUARDSEN. _Oberflächengestaltung und Hydrographie des Sahara-
Sudanischen abflusslosen Gebietes._ Inaug. Diss. Göttingen, 1909.
MASSARI, A. La traversée de l’Afrique de la mer Rouge au golfe de
Guinée, article in _Bull. de la Soc. belge de géogr._, 1883, p. 845.
[Massari was a naval officer and Matteucci a doctor. Their expedition
was partly financed by Prince Borghese. They started from Suakin on the
Red Sea, passed through Wadai, Kuka (where they remarked on the gaiety
and looseness of morals of the inhabitants), Kano, Bida, and Egga, where
they stayed at the English factory, and so down the Niger and home. They
landed at Liverpool on August 5, 1881, seventeen months after
disembarking at Suakin. Dr. Matteucci was attacked by fever in the train
between Liverpool and London, and died the following day. I have not
been able to discover the date of Massari’s death, but as he lectured to
the Belgian Geographical Society two years after his return to Europe,
he evidently did not die so soon as is implied in note [38] of the
present work.]
MECKLENBURG, DUKE ADOLF FRIEDRICH ZU. _From the Congo to the Niger and
the Nile._ London, 1913. 2 vols.
MERCIER, CAPT. ÉMILIEN. Le pays du Logone-Chari. La Voie de la Benoué,
article in the _Bulletin de la Société de Géographie_. Marseille, 35
(1911). [Deals with the question of transport of supplies for French
Chad territories via the Benue.]
MIGEOD, F. W. H. _The Languages of West Africa._ 2 vols. London, 1911.
MOLL. Vid. Eschevannes and Barrès.
MONTEIL, C. Vid. Pierre.
NACHTIGAL, DR. G. _Trauerfeier für Gustav Nachtigal, 17. Mai 1885._
Berlin, 1885. [Reprinted from _Verhandlungen der Gesellschaft für
Erdkunde zu Berlin_, No. 7, 1885.]
*—— _Résultats d’un voyage dans le Soudan_, in-8, 1875. 1 fr. 25.
*—— Nachrichten von Dr. Nachtigal, in _Petermann’s Mitteilungen_, ann.
1871, pp. 326, 450, 67, 201; _Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde
zu Berlin_, ann. 1873, p. 61; ann. 1871, p. 130; ann. 1873, pp. 249 and
311; ann. 1874, p. 39; ann. 1874, x. 2, p. 109; _Globus_, ann. 1873, pp.
215 and 231; ann. 1873, pp. 119, 137, and 153; _Kölnische Zeitung_, July
20 and 28, 1873; _Mitteilungen der Geographischen Gesellschaft zu
Hamburg_, ann. 1876, 1877, p. 305; _Tour du monde_, 2e semestre, 1880;
_Geographical Magazine_, ann. 1875, p. 178.
NELSON, REV. THOMAS. _Biographical Memoir of the late Dr. Walter Oudney
and Capt. Hugh Clapperton, both of the Royal Navy, and Major Alex.
Gordon Laing, all of whom died amid their active and enterprising
endeavours to explore the Interior of Africa._ By Rev. Thomas Nelson,
M.W.S. [i.e. Member of the Wernerian Natural History Society].
Edinburgh, Waugh & Innes; Whittaker, Treacher & Co., London, 1830.
[Nelson was a personal friend of both Oudney and Clapperton, and had
letters from both put at his disposal by Dr. James Kay, R.N., Professor
Jameson, and Oudney’s sister. He also had personal information from
Clapperton’s sister and other friends.]
NORRIS, EDWIN. _Dialogues and a small portion of the New Testament in
the English, Arabic, Hausa, and Bornu Languages._ [Translated by James
Richardson, and edited by E. N.] London, 1853. Obl. 4to.
—— _Grammar of the Bornu or Kanuri Language, with Dialogues._
[Transcribed from Richardson’s MSS. Norris’s books are referred to in
the preface to Koelle’s _Kanuri Grammar_.] London, 1853.
ORR, C. W. _The Making of Northern Nigeria._ London, 1911.
OUDNEY. Vid. Denham.
PAHDE, ADOLF. _Der Afrika-Forscher Eduard Vogel._ 1889, Hamburg. [A
small pamphlet of 36 pages; it forms vol. lxxxii in Virchow and
Holtzendorff’s _Sammlung gemeinverständlicher wissenschaftlicher
Vorträge_, Neue Folge, Serie iv. The author mentions that a black marble
tablet has been affixed to the wall of the house in Krefeld, No. 122
Königstrasse, where Vogel was born.]
PALMER, H. R. The Bornu Girgam, article in _Journal of the African
Society_, October, 1912. [A transcription and translation of a Kanuri
chronicle. Of first-rate interest. A good many misprints.]
PASSARGE, SIEGFRIED. _Die Völker des Centralen Sudan._ Berlin, 1895.
*PÉRIN, G. _Rapport sur la Mission Foureau-Lamy._
PETERMANN, AUGUSTUS. _Progress of the Expedition to Central Africa._
London, 1854. Folio.
PIERRE, C., and C. MONTEIL. _L’Élevage au Soudan._ Paris, 1905. [Deals
with all kinds of cattle and stock raising, primarily as regards the
Upper Niger, but applicable elsewhere. Admirable illustrations.]
POTT, A. F. Sprachen aus Afrika’s Innerem und Westen, article in _Z. D.
M. G._, vol. viii (1854), pp. 413-41. [A critique of Norris’s books.]
PRICHARD, J. C. _Researches into the Physical History of Mankind._ 3rd
ed. Vol. ii, pp. 127 and 113. 1837.
PRIETZE, RUDOLF. Die spezifischen Verstärkungsadverbien im Hausa und
Kanuri, article in _Mitteilungen des Seminars für orientalische Sprachen
zu Berlin_, 1908, 3rd fasc., p. 307-17.
PRINS, P. Vers le Tchad. Une année de résidence auprès de Mohammed Abd-
er-Rhaman Gaourang, Sultan de Bagirmi, Avril 1898-Mai 1899, article in
_La Géographie, bulletin de la Société de Géographie_, Paris, 1900,
March number.
_Quarterly Review._ Vid. Index vol. xl under Clapperton and Denham.
[Vol. xxxiii contains a review of Denham’s book; and vol. xxxix of
Clapperton’s second book, also two letters of Sultan Bello of Sokoto to
Clapperton not printed elsewhere. On p. 112 of vol. xxxviii the
_Quarterly Review_, commenting on the death of Clapperton and other
explorers, remarks: ‘We trust there will now be an end to the sacrifice
of valuable lives in prosecuting discoveries on this wretched continent,
of which we know enough to be satisfied that it contains little at all
worthy of being known.’]
*REDHOUSE. _History of Events during Expeditions against the Tribes of
Bulala._ London, 1862. In-8. [This is quoted by Carbou in _La Région du
Tchad et du Ouadaï_, and is included in his Bibliography, but I have
been unable to trace it in the British Museum or in the Bodleian.
Possibly it is really an article in some periodical.]
*REGELSPERGER. Du Niger au Tchad. La Mission Tilho, ses travaux et ses
résultats, article in _Le Mois col. et marit._, 7e année, 1909. 1er
vol., pp. 97-109.
REIBELL (COM.). _Le Commandant Lamy d’après sa correspondance et ses
souvenirs de campagne_ (1858-1900). Paris, Hachette, 1903. [Only a few
pages at the end concern events in Bornu.]
ROHLFS, G. Sprachstudien: _Peterm. Mitt._, Ergänzungs-Heft No. 25, p.
67.
—— _Peterm. Mitt._, 1867, p. 333.
—— Vid. under Guenther.
_Royal Geographical Society’s Journal_, vols. xxiv, xxv, xxvi, xxvii,
xxviii _passim_.
_Royal Geographical Society’s Proceedings_, vol. ii, p. 30 (_re_ Vogel).
ST. JOHN, BAYLE. _Travels of an Arab Merchant in the Soudan._ Abridged
from the French. London, 1854. [Mostly about Darfur and Wadai. The
original French edition is by Nicholas Perron, Paris, 1845. The
merchant’s name was Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Umar, and he was in the vicinity
of Chad about A.D. 1805.]
SCHUBERT, GUSTAV VON. _Heinrich Barth, der Bahnbrecher der deutschen
Afrikaforschung._ Berlin, 1897. Dietrich Reimer. [Contains portraits of
Abbega and Dorugu (the latter of whom died in November, 1912, and is
buried at the Nassarawa Government Schools near Kano), and facsimiles of
various letters, including one from Livingstone to Barth, sending him a
copy of his book.]
_Scots Magazine._ 1824. Pt. ii, p. 637. [An obituary of Oudney,
consisting of an extract from a letter of Clapperton’s to Consul
Warrington at Tripoli.]
SEEFRIED, VON. Untersuchungen über die Natur der Harmattantrübe, in _M.
Deutsch. Schutzgeb._ 26 (1913), 9-12.
SEIDEL, A. _Geschichten und Lieder der Afrikaner._ Berlin, 1896, p. 311.
STANLEY, H. M. _Through the Dark Continent_, 1878. Vol. ii, p. 494.
STRUCK, BERNHARD. Bibliography of Northern Nigeria, in _Journal of the
African Society_, 1911-12. [Very valuable.]
STRUMPELL. Adamawa Vocabularies, in _Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_, iii-
iv, 1910, edited by Bernhard Struck.
TALBOT, P. A. Article on Lake Chad in _Journal of the Royal Geographical
Society_ for September 1911.
TILHO. Délimitation franco-anglaise entre Niger et Tchad (Mission Moll),
article in _La Géographie_. Paris, 1906, 13. 332-6.
—— The French Mission to Lake Chad, article in the _Royal Geographical
Society’s Journal_, September 1910.
—— _Documents scientifiques de la Mission Tilho_, 1910-11. Paris. [Of
first-rate interest and value. Published by the French Ministry for the
Colonies. Capt. Tilho’s colleague, M. Landeroin, is responsible for the
historical and ethnographical sections.]
*TRUFFERT. Région du Tchad, le Bahr el Ghazal et l’archipel Kouri,
article in _Revue de Géographie_, June-July 1903.
TULLY, RICHARD. _Letters from Tripoli._ London, 1819, vid. Appendix XXI.
*VAN GENNEP, CH. MONTEIL ET G. DEMOMBYNES. _Principes d’enquêtes dans
l’Afrique Occidentale. Ethnographie et linguistique._ [In preparation.]
VOGEL. Nachrichten über Vogels Schicksal von Munzinger, in _Petermann’s
Mitteilungen_, ann. 1862, p. 346.
—— Vid. under Pahde.
*WAUTERS, A. J. Les Voies d’accès au Lac Tchad, article in the
_Mouvement géographique_, 29. (1912), 481-6.
MAPS
For the construction of the maps the following were used in addition to
the authorities mentioned above:
Sketch-map in the _Deutsches Kolonialbl._, xvii. Jahrg., p. 594.
Map 2 in the _Treaty Series_, No. 14, London, 1906.
Map of Northern Nigeria in _Colonial Reports Annual_, No. 532.
_The Surveys of British Africa_, London, 1907, pp. 34 ff.
The sheet marked ‘Chad’ in the map of the Kameruns by Moisel, 1909.
LANGUAGES
Vid. Bernhard Struck, Bibliography of Northern Nigeria, in _African
Society’s Journal_, 1911-12; and Benton, _Kanuri Readings_ and _Notes on
Some Languages of the Central Sudan_.
APPENDIX I
LIST OF LEPIDOPTERA
OBSERVED BY ARNOLD SCHULTZE DURING THE YOLA-CHAD BOUNDARY COMMISSION OF
1903-4 IN BORNU AND THE ADJACENT COUNTRIES.[487]
FAM. DANAIDIDAE
1. _Danaida chrysippus_, L., et var. _alcippus_, Cram. This species,
which is widely distributed all over Africa and Western Asia, is to be
found everywhere. Caterpillars are found on all the _Asclepiadae_,
especially _Calotropis procera_.
2. _D. limniace_, var. _petiverana_, D. H. In South Bornu (on the
‘kopjes’) sporadic and rare.
FAM. SATYRIDAE
3. _Melanitis leda_, B. South Bornu. Flights about evening time.
4. _Ypthima simplicia_, Butl. On the southern boundary at Uba.
FAM. NYMPHALIDAE
5. _Acraea neobule_, var. _seis_ Feisth. In South Bornu (‘kopjes’).
6. _A. caecilia_, Fbr. Dile. (South Bornu.)
7. _A. pseudegina_, Westw. (South Bornu.)
8. _A. encedon_, L. On the southern boundary at Uba.
9. _Pyrameis cardui_, L. This cosmopolitan insect is found especially in
the Marghi ‘bush’ at the end of the rains feeding on elephant dung.
10. _Precis orithya_, var. _madagascariensis_, Guen. Very sporadic.
11. _P. oenone_, var. _cebrene_, Trim. As above.
12. _P. octavia_, Cram. et f. _amestris_, Dr. In South Bornu (on the
granite hills).
13. _P. antilope_, Feisth. with f. _simia_, Wallengr. As above, but
somewhat commoner.
14. _P. chorimene_, Guen. As above.
15. _Catacropthera cloanthe_, var. _ligata_, Rotsch. & Jord. South
Bornu. On the plains and on the granite hills.
16. _Hypolimnas misippus_, L. Sporadic in South Bornu. Granite hills.
17. _H. dubius_, Pal. Rare, on southern boundary at Uba.
18. _Byblia acheloia_, Wallengr., with f. _Crameri_, Auriv. Very
sporadic.
19. _Neptis agata_, Stoll. Boundary of Southern Bornu.
20. _Hamanumida daedalus_, Fabr. Everywhere.
21. _Charaxes epijasius_, Reiche. South Bornu sporadic. Caterpillars on
_Burkea africana_.
22. _Ch. achaemenes_, Fields. South Bornu (‘kopjes’).
23. _Ch. etheocles_, var. _viola_, Butl. Everywhere, especially on the
tamarind trees. Caterpillars on various Leguminosae.
24. _Ch. candiope_, God. Rare, on southern boundary at Uba.
25. _Ch. varanes_, Cram. Everywhere that the _cardiospermum
halicacabum_, on which the caterpillars feed, grows, but always
sporadic.
FAM. LYCAENIDAE
26. _Dendorix caerulea_, H. Druce, at Dile, South Bornu.
27. _D. livia_, Shy. Everywhere that there are acacias in bloom.
28. _D. antalus_, Hopffer. Idem.
29. _Jolaus menas_, H. Druce. On the southern boundary at Uba. Like No.
30, especially on the _Vitex_ when in bloom.
30. _J. ismenias_, Shy. As above.
31. _J. bicaudatus_, Auriv. At Dile (South Bornu).
32. _J. umbrosus_, Butl. Found hovering round scattered trees on ‘firki’
soil. (The caterpillars of all the Jolaus species are fond of the
Loranthus.)
33. _Spindasis mozambica_, Bertoloni. Boundary of South Bornu.
34. _Cupido plinius_, Fabr. Everywhere.
35. _C. baeticus_, L. This widely-distributed species is found hovering
round the ‘ambach’ of the zone of marshy vegetation of Chad.
36. _C. eleusis_, Demaison. South Bornu.
37. _C. cissus_, God. Everywhere.
38. _C. lysimon_, Hubn. Idem.
FAM. PIERIDAE
39. _Herpaenia eriphia_, var. _lacteipennis_, Butl. South Bornu.
40. _Pieris gidica_, God. Everywhere; especially in the flooded
districts of Chad.
41. _P. creona_, Cram. Idem. Caterpillars on the Capparis.
42. _P. mesentina_. As above.
43. _Teracolus amatus_, var. _Calais_, Cram. In Central Bornu,
especially at Dikoa on the Capparis bushes, on which the caterpillars
feed, as do those of all the Teracolus species.
44. _T. chrysonome_, Shy. As above. Very common.
45. _T. vesta_, var. _amelia_, Lucas. South Bornu.
46. _T. protomedia_, Shy. Everywhere, sporadic.
47. _T. eris_, Shy. As above.
48. _T. jone_, var. _phlegas_, Butl. Everywhere, and at all times of the
year.
49. _T. eupompe_, Shy, with f. _dedecora_, Feld. As above.
50. _T. evippe_, L. and f. _ocale_, Boisd. Habitat as above, but rarer.
51. _T. antigone_, Boid., with f. _phlegetonia_, Boisd. As above.
52. _T. euarne_, Shy, with f. _citreus_, Butl. As above.
53. _Eronia cleodora_, Hübn, var. _erxia_, Hübn. Everywhere sporadic,
especially on the cotton plant.
54. _Catopsilia florella_, Fabr. Everywhere. Caterpillars on the Cassia.
55. _Terias brigitta_, Cram., f. _Zoe_, Hopff. Everywhere, especially in
the marshy zone of Chad, where the caterpillars are fond of the
‘ambach’.
FAM. PAPILIONIDAE
56. _Papilio Schultzei_, Auriv. Only on the boundary at Uba, and only at
one small spot near inaccessible rocks.
57. _P. pylades_, Fabr. Everywhere on the damp sand-banks of rivers.
Caterpillars on _Anona senegalensis_.
58. _P. leonidas_, Fabr. Boundary of Southern Bornu.
FAM. HESPERIDAE
59. _Hesperia Zaire_, Pl. South bank of Chad.
60. _Chapra mathias_, Fabr. Marshy zone of Chad. Caterpillars on
Graminae.
61. _Cyclopides formosus_, Butl., var. _tsadicus_, Auriv. Dile. South
Bornu.
62. _Tagiades flesus_, Fabr. As above.
FAM. ARCTIIDAE
63. _Utetheisa pulchella_, L. Everywhere. Common in places.
FAM. LYMANTRIIDAE
64. _Laelia euproctina_, Auriv. South bank of Chad.
FAM. SPHINGIDAE
65. _Hersi convolvuli_, L. Caterpillars common on the _Ipomoea_ on the
banks of Chad.
66. _Acherontia atropos_, L. Sporadic. Caterpillars on the _Vitex_.
67. _Daphnis nerii_, L. In damp places. Caterpillars on the
Sarcocephalus species.
68. _Macroglossum trochilus_, Hübn. South Bornu.
(_Hippotion celerio_, L., and _osiris_, Dalm., are both met with in the
neighbouring country of Adamawa, the former in great numbers.)
FAM. SATURNIIDAE
69. _Epiphora bauhiniae_, Guér. Everywhere that the _Zizyphus_ grows, on
which the caterpillars feed. (Silk-spinners.)
70. _E. Schultzei_, Auriv. As above, but more on Lake Chad.
71. _Gonimbrasia osiris_, Druce. South Bornu. Caterpillars swarm on the
Terminalia trees, and are eaten by the pagans.
72. _Bunaea hersilia_, Westw. In South Bornu (Marghi ‘bush’),
caterpillars common on the elephant grass.
73. _B. licharbas_, Maas. Dile. South Bornu. Caterpillars on vetches.
FAM. LASIOCAMPIDAE
74. _Taragama diluta_, Auriv. To be met with resting on the ‘retam’ or
broom on the banks of Chad.
FAM. SESIIDAE
75. _Sesia spec._ Marshy zone of Chad.
FAM. PLUSIIDAE
76. _Plusia chalcytes_, Esp. Boundary of Southern Bornu.
FAM. HELIOTHIDAE
77. _Heliothis armiger_, Hl. South Bornu. Caterpillars on _Sesamum
indicum_.
78. _Xanthodes Graëllsii_, Feisth. Everywhere.
FAM. OPHIUSIDAE
79. _Leucanitis stolida_, F. Everywhere in damp meadows.
80. _Grammodes bifasciata_, Petag. As above. Common in places.
81. _G. algira_, L. As above.
(The five last-named species are the commonest _Heterocerae_.)
82. _Pseudophia tirrhaea_, Cr. In Southern Bornu.
[Footnote 487: Cf. p. 128 ff. of article by Aurivillius in _Archiv för
Zoologi_, vol. ii, No. 12, Stockholm, 1905. [For plates of butterflies
vid. Karl Kumm, _From Hausaland to Egypt_.]]
APPENDIX II
LIST OF THE BORNU KINGS
Below will be found a list of the kings of Bornu given to me by one
Mallam Kashim. This list was shown to the late Major McClintock, who
ordered the mallam to keep it until I returned from leave.
It differs considerably from Mr. Vischer’s list[488]—printed opposite
it—and it also differs from the list compiled by M. Landeroin and
printed in the _Documents scientifiques de la Mission Tilho_, vol. ii,
p. 348. Mallam Kashim asserts that the list he gave me was copied from
an old manuscript, but I do not think it has any special authenticity or
correctness.[489] It is interesting, however, for purposes of
comparison. Mr. Vischer’s list was compiled when he was a political
officer in Bornu in 1906, and is printed with his kind permission, and
by that of the government of Northern Nigeria. It is printed in the
_Notes on certain Emirates and Tribes_, edited by Major Burdon and
published by the N.N. Government, where also appears a table of
relationships of the Shehus, compiled by Mr. Vischer. Barth’s,
Nachtigal’s, and Landeroin’s lists appear in parallel columns in vol.
ii, p. 348 of _Documents scientifiques de la Mission Tilho_, and Mr. H.
R. Palmer’s list in the _Journal of the African Society_ for October,
1912.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF THE RULERS OF BORNU
FROM SAEF BEN DHU YASAN, fourth century A.D. to SHEICH ABUBAKR GERBAI
BEN IBRAHIM BEN OMAR, present day.
Source of information: Barth’s and Nachtigal’s tables of Bornu rulers;
personal information. Compiled by Hanns Vischer, Geidam, December 12,
1907.
1. Saef Ben Dhu Yasan reigned 20 years
2. Ibrahim Ben Saef „ 16 „
3. Duku Ben Ibrahim „ 250 „
4. Fune Ben Duku „ 60 „
5. Aritso Ben Fune „ 50 „
6. Katori Ben Aritso „ 250 „
7. Adyoma Ben Katori „ 20 „
8. Bulu Ben Ayoma „ 16 „
9. Arki Ben Bulu „ 44 „
10. Shu Ben Arki „ 4 „
11. Abd El Djelil Ben Shu „ 4 „
12. Hume Ben Abd El Djelil „ from 1086-1097
13. Dunama Ben Hume „ „ 1098-1150
14. Biri Ben Dunama „ „ 1151-1176
15. Abd Allah Ben Bikoru „ „ 1177-1193
16. Abd el Djelil Ben Bikoru „ „ 1194-1220
17. Dunama Dibalami „ „ 1221-1259
18. Abd El Kedim Ben Dunama „ „ 1259-1288
19. Biri Ben Dunama „ „ 1288-1306
20. Nikale Ben Biri „ „ 1307-1326
21. Abd Allah Ben Kade „ „ 1326-1345
22. Selma Ben Abd Allah „ „ 1346-1349
23. Kure Gana Ben Abd Allah „ „ 1350
24. Kure Kura Ben Abd Allah „ „ 1351
25. Mohammed Ben Abd Allah „ „ 1352
26. Edris Ben Nikale „ „ 1353-1376
27. Daud Ben Nikale „ „ 1377-1386
28. Otman Ben Daud „ „ 1387-1390
29. Otman Ben Edris „ „ 1391-1392
30. Abubakr Liyatu Ben Daud „ „ 1392
31. Omar Ben Edris „ „ 1394-1398
32. Said „ „ 1399-1400
33. Kade Afno Ben Edris „ „ 1400-1432
35. Otman Kalnama Ben Daud „ „ 1432
36. Dunama ben Omar „ „ 1433-1434
37. Abd Allah Ben Omar „ „ 1435-1442
38. Ibrahim Ben Otman „ „ 1442-1450
39. Kade Ben Otman „ „ 1450-1451
40. Dunama Ben Biri „ „ 1451-1455
41. Mohammed „ „ 1455
42. Amer „ „ 1456
43. Mohammed Ben Kade „ „ ?
44. Rhadji „ „ 1456-1461
45. Otman Ben Kade „ „ 1461-1466
46. Omar Ben Abd Allah „ „ 1467-1471
47. Mohammed Ben Mohammed „ „ 1472-1504
49. Edris Ben Ali „ „ 1504-1526
50. Moh Ben Edris „ „ 1526-1545
51. Ali Ben Edris „ „ 1545
52. Dunama Ben Mohammed „ „ 1546-1563
53. Abd Allah Ben Dunama „ „ 1564-1570
54. Edris Ben Ali Aloma „ „ 1571-1603
55. Mohammed Ben Edris „ „ 1603-1618
56. Ibrahim Ben Edris „ „ 1618-1625
57. Hadj Omar Ben Edris „ „ 1625-1645
58. Ali Ben El Hadj Omar „ „ 1645-1685
59. Edris Ben Ali „ „ 1685-1704
60. Dunama Ben Ali „ „ 1704-1722
61. Hadj Hamdun Ben Dunama „ „ 1723-1736
62. Mohammed Ben El Hadj Hamdun „ „ 1737-1751
63. Dunama Gana Ben Mohammed „ „ 1752-1755
64. Ali Ben Hadj Dunama „ „ 1755-1793
65. Ahmed Ben Ali „ „ 1793-1810
66. Dunama Ben Ahmed „ „ 1810-1817
67. Ibrahim Ben Ahmed „ „ 1818-1846
68. Sheich Omar Ben El Kanemi „ „ 1846-1880
69. Abdurrahman Ben El Kanemi „ „ 1853-1854
70. Sheich Bukr Ben Omar „ „ 1880-1884
71. Sheich Ibrahim Ben Omar „ „ 1884-1885
72. Sheich Hashem Ben Omar „ „ 1885-1893
73. Sheich Kiari Ben Bukr „ „ 1893
74. Sheich Sanda Limanambe
Ben Bukr „ „ 1893
75. Rhabe the Usurper „ „ 1893-1900
76. Sheich Sanda Kwori
Ben Ibrahim „ „ 1900
77. Sheich Abubakr Gerbai
Ben Ibrahim Ben Omar
Ben El Kanemi
LIST OF BORNU KINGS
As given by Mallam Kashim (Maiduguri, October 12, 1912). _N.B._—V. =
Vischer.
1. Sebu Aisami Yamanma V. 1
2. Ibrahim Sebumi V. 2
3. Mai Duku Brem V. 3
4. Mai Fune Dukumi V. 4
5. Mai Archo Funemi V. 5
6. Mai Kaduri Archomi V. 6
7. Mai Boiyoma Kadurimi
8. Mai Boiyo Bulumi
9. Mai Arigi Bulumi V. 9
10. Mai Jil Shomi V. 11
11. Mai Jil Rigimi
12. Mai Ume Jilumi V. 12
13. Mai Dunama Umemi V. 13
14. Mai Daudu Nigalemi
15. Mai Dalla Bikorumi V. 15
16. Mai Tselim Bikorumi
17. Mai Dalla Dunamami
18. Mai Kadde Aujami
19. Mai Dalla Aujami
20. Mai Arri Gaji Zainami
21. Mai Kadde Madallami
22. Mai Usuman Kaddemi
23. Mai Momadi Kaddemi
24. Mai Iderisa Ashami
25. Mai Deril Arilwa
26. Mai Ume Aisa Gana
27. Mai Biri Aminami
28. Mai Kore Afuno Dalla
29. Mai Kore Goguwa
30. Mai Kore Gawua
31. Mai Kore Kura Kesa Ngilleru
32. Mai Jil Kellemi
33. Mai Momadu Baranbatama
34. Mai Momadi Jumarama Umar Iderisami
35. Mai Dagumoma Dalla Umarmi
36. Mai Kagu Umarmi
37. Mai Momadu Godimi
38. Mai Momadu Palagema
39. Mai Momadu Maza Iderisimi
40. Mai Daudu Niyalemi V. 27
41. Mai Usumanu Daudumi V. 28
42. Mai Sebu Gana
43. Mai Yusufu Sebumi
44. Mai Tselim Auwami
45. Mai Daudu Nigalemi
46. Mai Tolomaramma Kashim Biri Dunamami
47. Mai Dalla Bikurumi Birimi
48. Mai Dunama Arrimi
49. Mai Momodu Dunamami
50. Mai Duna Aminami
51. Mai Panami Umar
52. Mai Arri
53. Mai Dalla Dunamami
54. Mai Arri Gaji
55. Mai Aisa Keri Ngumaramma (F) (regent for nephew No. 56)
56. Mai Iderisi Arrimi Aloma (buried in Lake Alo) V. 54
57. Mai Momadi Panami Baranbatama V. 55
58. Mai Brem Gumsumi V. 56
59. Mai Umar Pusami Dusumami V. 57
60. Mai Arri Umarmi V. 58
61. Mai Tolomaramma Kashim Biri Umarmi (ancestor of
Mallam Kashim, compiler of this list)
62. Mai Kime Mele Arrimi
63. Mai Dunama V. 60
64. Mai Aji Dunamami V. 61
65. Mai Momodu Ajimi V. 62
66. Mai Dunama V. 63
67. Mai Arri Dunamami V. 64
68. Mai Arri Panami
69. Mai Amadu Arrimi V. 65
70. Mai Dunama Lefiami (ancestor of Maina Gumsumi,
present representative of old dynasty and now
Ajia of Bussugua) V. 66
71. Mai Momadi Ngilleruma Gumsumi or Ngueleroma
72. Mai Ibram V. 67
73. Mai Arri Dalatumi (killed at Minarge by Shehu Umar)
74. Shehu Lamino
75. Shehu Umar
76. Shehu Abdurrahman
77. Shehu Umar
78. Shehu Bukar
79. Shehu Ibrahim
80. Shehu Ashimi
81. Shehu Kiari
82. Shehu Sanda Limannambe
83. Rabeh
84. Shehu Sanda Kura
85. Shehu Garbai
[Footnote 488: Though sometimes only in giving a man’s matronymic,
instead of his patronymic, e.g. No. 58 in Mallam Kashim’s list is
described as ‘the son of Gumsu’ and corresponds to No. 56 in Mr.
Vischer’s list ‘the son of Edris’.]
[Footnote 489: E.g. he introduces in No. 61 his own ancestor, who does
not appear in any other list. On the other hand he includes No. 71,
Nguéléroma, omitted in all other lists, except M. Landeroin’s, for
reasons mentioned in _Documents scientifiques de la Mission Tilho_, vol.
ii, p. 346; cf. Appendix IV of the present work.]
APPENDIX III
THE TUBBAS (OR SEFS) AND THE SOS
According to the _Documents scientifiques de la Mission Tilho_, ii. 352,
the dynasty of the Sefs are more generally known under the name of
Tubbas. ‘A young chief whose name has not been preserved but who was
later known as Tubba Lowel (the first who repented) left Hindi (India)
at the head of an army and went to the country of Cham (Syria), whose
inhabitants paid him tribute in order to avoid war. He then directed his
march to Bougdari or Goudeber (Baghdad?) then to Masr (Egypt) and
Medina, exacting tribute everywhere. From Medina he went to Yemen, where
he established himself without resistance. From there he went to besiege
Mecca, which had refused to submit to him. He was accompanied by 4,000
mallams (priests).’ To this legend M. l’officier interprète principal,
Hamet Ismael, appends a note that this legend appears to be a somewhat
garbled account of the history of the Tobbas or Shepherd Kings of Egypt
(Hyksos): cf. _L’Arabie_, par Noël des Vergers, p. 50 ff. ‘One day the
king reproached the mallams that their assistance did not enable him to
capture Mecca. The principal mallam replied that he ought to be content
with the empire of Persia, Bougdari, Egypt, Medina, and Yemen, and
should not attack the sacred city of the Kaaba, which was destined one
day to give birth to a prophet. The king then repented, abandoned the
siege, and declared that on the appearance of this prophet he would
become his first disciple. This repentance caused him to be called Tubba
Lowel (the first who repented), from the Arabic verb “itoub” = he
repents. Tubba Lowel returned to Yemen, and forty years later, when
Mohammed was preaching Islam, he embraced the new religion.
After the reign of Hussein, the sixth Caliph, the Mussulman Empire was
divided. One of the descendants of Tubba Lowel had the north and
afterwards Stambul (Constantinople); another, named Seibu Aïsami,
crossed the Nile and travelled towards the Sudan. This Seibu is perhaps
Barth’s Sef. Later the descendants of Seibu came to Kanem, then occupied
by the Bulala, and drove back the latter to Lake Fittri. Whether the
Tubbas came in from the north via Fezzan or from the east via Kordofan
is not known. Barth says they came from Borku, which is north-east of
Kanem, and that they were descended from the Libyan tribe of the Berdoa,
who, according to Nachtigal, occupied the oases of Kufra and Tou. Having
thus conquered Kanem, the Tubbas or Seibuas established their capital at
Birni Njime, thirty miles east of Mao, north-east of Chad. Towards the
end of the fifteenth century the Tubbas left Kanem in order to instal
themselves in Bornu. According to Barth and Nachtigal the Tubbas were
driven out of Kanem by the Bulala; according to our informants they left
there in order to conquer Bornu, a more fertile country than Kanem.’
There is also another version of the installation of the Tubbas in Bornu
(_Doc. sci._, ii. 356). After having abandoned Kanem, about four hundred
and fifty years ago, they came to Bornu, then occupied by the Sos, whose
chief Guma Kandira or Dala Gumami [cf. Benton, _Kanuri Readings_, p. 27]
(‘Kandira’ means in Kanuri ‘hunter, archer’) was living in straw huts at
Gambaru on the River Yo. Having obtained leave to sit down near him, the
Tubbas bought land in order to build their houses there. Amongst this
land was a garden planted with ‘kumo’, which means in Kanuri ‘the
calabash-gourd’. When their town or ‘birni’ was built, it was called
Birni Zerku Kumo, i.e. the town of the calabash-garden, ‘zerku’ meaning
in Kanuri ‘a garden’. [Probably the word spelt ‘zerkou’ by Landeroin
should be ‘ze̥rge̥’ = a dry watercourse, a natural place for a market-
garden.—P. A. B.] By inversion of syllables ‘zerku’ became ‘kuzer’,
hence Kuzer Kumo. Another derivation is suggested by Landeroin.
Nachtigal speaks of a group of three villages to the north of Mao, whose
chief bore the title of ‘Kumo’. Perhaps the Tubba chiefs, who bore in
Bornu the title of ‘Mai’ (= ‘king’ in Kanuri), may have formerly borne
that of Kumo, hence Kasr Kumo = the palace of the Kumo. [‘Kasr’ is an
Arabic word for a castle or citadel, sometimes used in Hausa, vid.
Robinson’s _Hausa Dictionary_, under the form ‘kasru’ to mean ‘a
palace’.][490] The Tubbas constructed their first capital at Gambaru,
but finding that it was apt to be flooded by the river during the rains
and was unsuited for the operations of their cavalry, they removed a few
miles south to Kasr Kumo. Gambaru became the residence of the Queen
Mother and her court.
In the course of time the So king got into debt to the Tubbas and
finally fled to escape his creditors. The following legend is told to
explain how the Tubbas got rid of the remaining Sos. The Tubbas were
accustomed to stain their hands and nails with a tincture of henna. The
Sos had tried to imitate them, but they were ignorant both of henna and
how to use it. The Tubbas had jealously guarded their secret, but at
last they agreed to reveal it on condition that all the Sos in the
country were present. Accordingly on the appointed day they killed an ox
and made the credulous Sos dip their hands in its blood. Their hands
were then enveloped in green leaves, as the Tubbas were accustomed to do
themselves, and the leaves bound round with thongs of raw hide. These
thongs were not to be removed for three days. At the end of this period
the thongs had shrunk so much that it was impossible to remove them
without cutting them. The Tubbas then fell upon the unfortunate Sos,
only one of whom escaped. This happened in the year 1452 of our era.
The Sos mentioned above were, according to the natives, the
autochthonous inhabitants of Bornu. They lived chiefly by hunting and
professed no religion. History has not preserved the names of their
chiefs, but legend paints them as of gigantic stature and of such
strength that when a So killed an elephant, he could carry it home on
his shoulder [cf. Benton, _Kanuri Readings_, p. 9]; their bracelets
would have been too big for our thighs and their axe-heads were as big
as a man’s body of the present day. But nothing in the country recalls
this extraordinary strength,—no weapon, utensil or dwelling which can
justify their reputation. [Since these words were written by M.
Landeroin some implements have been discovered bearing on this point.
During the excavations for the wall of the Maiduguri leper-camp at the
end of 1911 three implements were turned up, which the Shehu at once
pronounced to be So arrow and spear-heads or hoes. They are shaped like
a very blunt arrow-head, and the biggest measures 14 in. by 8 in. at its
greatest length and breadth, and weighs 4 lb. 12 oz. They are perhaps So
hoes, and are certainly infinitely heavier than those used at the
present day. They have been deposited in the Zungeru museum. No other
remains were found.—P. A. B.] Another argument against the Sos being
giants is that their descendants the Beddes, Ngizims, Kotokos, &c., are
no taller and no stronger than individuals of other races inhabiting the
country. [But according to Miss Macleod, _Chiefs and Cities of Central
Africa_, p. 196, few Kotokos are under 6 ft., and some are as tall as 6
ft. 7 in.]
[Footnote 490: Whichever derivation is accepted, it is perhaps not too
fanciful to quote as parallels the Biblical phrase ‘a lodge in a garden
of cucumbers’, or again the first words of the famous passage describing
the accession of Queen Victoria—‘In a palace in a garden . . .’ If this
sounds too poetical, the alliterative translation ‘Castle Calabash’ is
easily remembered.]
APPENDIX IV
SHEHU LAMINO AND HIS SUCCESSORS
The following is a translation of pp. 358-76 of vol. ii of the
_Documents scientifiques de la Mission Tilho_, published in 1911, which
modify considerably Barth’s estimate of Shehu Lamino and his successors.
The information was obtained orally by M. Landeroin, ‘officier
interprète’ of the French Boundary Commission. He remarks on p. 346:
‘It is even probable that Barth, as well as Nachtigal, could not get
impartial information regarding the period of the rise of Mohammed El
Amin (more often called Sheikh Lamino), founder of the Kanemi dynasty.
One may guess in fact that, owing to fear of the Sheikh, no one would
have dared to say, even in a whisper, what they thought of their
sovereign, for informers were held in much honour at the court of Bornu,
and the gossips would soon have been denounced and executed. Barth and
Nachtigal were generally escorted and guided by the spies of Shehu Umar,
and they could hardly become intimate with anybody but his favourites
and friends. All the information furnished to them was faithfully
reported to the Shehu, who would not have failed to deal severely with
those who dared to criticize his own acts or those of his father. This
is doubtless why Barth was able to write, all in good faith, that Sheikh
Mohammed El Amin was “a pious and God-fearing man”, whereas, on the
contrary he was greedy and ambitious.
To-day the Kanemi dynasty exercise no more than the shadow of power; any
one, therefore, can tell fearlessly what he knows and express an opinion
on those who have held the reins of power. This is why the unpublished
information which we have collected will show the reigns of the last
Sultans of Bornu under a new light.’
The justice of M. Landeroin’s observations can hardly be disputed, and a
knowledge of the present representatives of the Kanemi dynasty inclines
one to accept his version of events rather than Barth’s. Nguéléroma does
not appear in Barth’s and Nachtigal’s lists, or in that compiled by Mr.
Vischer in 1906. The Bornu Provincial Office copy of the latter has a
note inserted in pencil by M. Landeroin himself regarding Nguéléroma.
Translated from _Documents scientifiques de la Mission Tilho_ (1911),
vol. ii, pp. 358-76.[491]
STRUGGLE AGAINST THE FULANI
Mai Ali was succeeded by his son Ahmed (Mai Amadu). During the latter’s
reign, Othman dan Fodio, who had just founded a Fulani empire in the
Hausa states, sent one of his lieutenants, Goni Mukhtar, to attack
Bornu. Mai Amadu, having become blind, had handed over the reins of
power to his son, Mai Dunama. The latter was unable to repulse Goni
Mukhtar, who captured Gazerregomo (Kazer Koumo) and installed himself
there. Dunama fled to Maguié, one day’s march to the east of
Gazerregomo, where he met Sheikh Lamino (Mohammed El Lamin El Kanemi), a
native of Kanem. Mai Dunama gave him handsome presents and said to him:
‘You are a learned and pious “mallam”, pray to God for me that He may
restore me my kingdom.’ This Sheikh Lamino was the son of Sheikh Langa
of the Kanembu tribe and of an Arab woman from Zouïla in the
Tripolitaine. After studying, like his father, with the Koiyams of
Gazerregomo, he accompanied his father on a pilgrimage to Mecca. His
father died at Medina, and Sheikh Lamino returned to Kanem. In answer to
Mai Dunama’s request, Lamino wrote three letters to Goni Mukhtar
pointing out to him that he was waging an unjust war against Mussulmans,
and suggesting that he should abandon Gazerregomo. At the same time he
begged the Sultan of Bornu’s vassals, among others the chiefs of Nguru,
Wacha, and Miria, to come and join him. No reply having been received to
the three letters, Sheikh Lamino said to Mai Dunama: ‘Return to your
capital, God will restore it to you.’ Full of confidence, the Tubba
Sultan marched against Goni Mukhtar and was victorious; the Fulani chief
was killed in the battle inside the town itself, which he had occupied
for forty days.
Mai Dunama reinstalled himself at Gazerregomo, but a year later was
attacked by the Fulani chief Mallam Ali, surnamed Zaki (the lion), and
again routed. Putting his faith in the invocations of Sheikh Lamino,
Dunama hastened to recall him from Kanem, gave him 100 camels, 100 oxen,
100 slaves, 100 horses, 1,000 dollars, 1,000 goats, 1,000 sheep, and
1,000 gowns, and begged him to pray to God anew that his empire might be
a second time restored to him.
Sheikh Lamino and his disciples prayed continuously for seven days, at
the end of which Dunama marched against his enemies. Mallam Zaki,
vanquished in his turn, had to fly and took refuge at Katagum, after
having been master of Gazerregomo for six months. These events happened
about 1808 or 1809.
At the advice of Sheikh Lamino, Mai Dunama abandoned his capital,
polluted by the Fulani, and founded Birnin Kabela, five days’ march to
the south-east.[492] To Sheikh Lamino he said: ‘Your prayers are always
efficacious; each time that you have invoked God in my favour, He has
heard you; I wish you therefore to remain near me in case the Fulani
come again to attack me.’
The Sheikh agreed, but only on condition of being allowed to settle
amongst the Kanembus who lived near Ngornu, eight or nine miles to the
east of Birnin Kabela. The Sultan accordingly gave him authority over
all the Kanembus of the district.
INTRIGUES OF SHEIKH LAMINO
The Sheikh was intriguing and ambitious. Some time afterwards, in accord
with the courtiers, he had Mai Dunama deposed and imprisoned at Dikoa,
according to some, at Ngornu, according to others. He was replaced by
his paternal uncle, Mohammed Nguéléroma, younger brother of the
preceding Sultan, Mai Amadu the Blind.
_Mohammed Nguéléroma_ reigned for three or four years, but he soon fell
out with Sheikh Lamino, who did not find him sufficiently generous
towards himself. New intrigues were then started to restore Dunama,
still a prisoner, to power. The Sheikh, having gained over by his
presents a certain number of Nguéléroma’s courtiers, had the ex-Sultan
brought before him by them, and asked him: ‘What would you give me if I
had the kingdom restored to you?’ Dunama replied: ‘If you have the power
restored to me, you shall have half the revenues of the kingdom.’
Satisfied with this answer, Sheikh Lamino kept Dunama in his house, and
the next day asked Nguéléroma to send him the principal officers of his
court.
The Sultan sent them to him at once, accompanied by his son and his son-
in-law. When they arrived at the gate of Lamino’s house, the latter had
them introduced one after the other, with the exception of the son and
the son-in-law, into a room in which had previously been placed a divan
to serve as a throne and some garments of royalty. Then Dunama entered,
took his place on the divan, and repeated before the assembled
functionaries the promise which he had made the evening before. ‘If
Lamino has the power restored to me, he shall have the half of the
revenues of the kingdom’.
Those of the courtiers who had not been made privy to the plot were
violently angry, but as they were in a minority, they had to restrain
themselves. Already they were afraid of the Sheikh, who, supported by
the Kanembu, was powerful enough to overawe them. Lamino immediately
invested Dunama with the garments of royalty, and then had the son and
son-in-law of Nguéléroma introduced into the chamber. At the same time
he bade the trumpets sound to announce the accession, and gave orders
for the public to be admitted. All could then see Mai Dunama seated on
the throne, and Sheikh Lamino presented him to them as the new sovereign
of Bornu.
On hearing the trumpets sound to announce the accession of Mai Dunama,
the horse-boy of Nguéléroma’s son leaped on his master’s horse and
galloped with loose rein to apprise the Sultan. He found the latter
occupied in reading the Koran. Nguéléroma, having learnt the news,
showed no signs of disturbance, but asked the horse-boy if the weather
seemed overcast. The latter replied that there were no clouds. Then the
Sultan shut his book, put it in a bag which he hung round his neck, and
left the town on foot by the north gate.
SECOND REIGN OF MAI DUNAMA
Meanwhile Sheikh Lamino and the courtiers were bringing Mai Dunama to
Birnin Kabela, which they entered by the south gate. Nguéléroma, hearing
the trumpets, stopped in the bush. Mai Dunama had search made for him,
and he was found without difficulty. Brought before his nephew, the
latter, without reproaching him for having formerly dethroned him,
assigned as a residence a village called Yamia, situated to the south of
Munio, and allowed him to take with him his four legitimate wives and
forty concubines. Nguéléroma only accepted the four wives, and escorted
by forty faithful horsemen, soon reached his new residence.
For three years Mai Dunama and Lamino governed jointly and divided the
revenues of the state. But Lamino’s authority kept increasing, and the
Sultan in alarm sought in secret to get rid of him. With this view he
summoned to his aid the Sultan of Baghirmi, Burgu Manda, who had been
formerly the vassal of Bornu, but had profited by the embarrassments
occasioned by the Fulani invasion to make himself independent of his
suzerain. Glad of an opportunity of proving his power to the Kanuri, he
assembled an army, crossed the Shari, and marched on Birnin Kabela.
Sheikh Lamino, informed almost immediately of the Baghirmi invasion,
decided to move against the enemy with all the forces of Bornu. Mai
Dunama could not avoid putting himself at the head of the army without
unmasking his designs, but he wrote to Burgu Manda to explain to him the
reasons of his apparent hostility. The Sultan of Baghirmi immediately
replied that he approved his conduct, but suggested that in future, to
avoid any misunderstanding, he and his adherents should always establish
their camp to the south of that of Sheikh Lamino. The Baghirmi could
thus be sure of concentrating their efforts on the army of the Sheikh
and of destroying it.
But the courier who carried this letter made a mistake. Instead of
giving it to Mai Dunama, he took it to Sheikh Lamino, who read it
without showing any disturbance, put it in his pocket and sent the man
away with a present.
Then, as the Baghirmi approached, the Sheikh’s camp was struck and re-
pitched some distance in advance, at Ngala; here Lamino and his Kanembu
established themselves to the south of Mai Dunama’s camp and waited.
Burgu Manda soon arrived. After viewing the dispositions made by the
opposing army, he thought that the Sultan of Bornu had safely received
his letter and had followed his advice. Accordingly he attacked the
north camp with all his forces, and after a desperate battle cut to
pieces the army of his friend, Mai Dunama. Before the latter could
recover from his astonishment and put a stop to the misunderstanding, he
was captured and slain by the Baghirmi troops (1817).
Meanwhile, Sheikh Lamino fled to Ngornu, hastily collected his most
valuable possessions and sent them off northwards, and after burning the
remainder, he fled towards Yo, on the River Wobe.
When Burgu Manda perceived his terrible mistake he was furious, and
hastened in pursuit of Lamino. The latter, however, had a good start and
the Sultan of Baghirmi could not overtake him. Burgu Manda was soon
afterwards compelled to return to his own country, and after sacking
Kukawa, where the Sheikh had another house, and ravaging everything as
he passed, he returned to his kingdom laden with booty.
SULTAN IBRAM AND SHEIKH LAMINO REIGN JOINTLY
At Birnin Kabela the nearest relatives of Mai Dunama and Nguéléroma
disputed among themselves as to who should succeed the Sultan thus
killed by mistake. The Sheikh, reassured by the departure of the
Baghirmi army, returned to Ngornu and again became master of the
situation. Ibram (Ibrahim ben Ahmed), younger brother of Mai Dunama,
wishing to assure himself of his protection, said to him: ‘My brother
gave you half the power and half the revenues of the kingdom; I will let
you have them all, if I can obtain the title of Mai.’
Lamino immediately accepted this offer. He called for the long silver
trumpets which were used to announce the accession of a Sultan, and
summoned to Ngornu the chiefs of the various tribes. In front of them
Ibram solemnly repeated the promise which he had just made to the
Sheikh, who immediately had a seal manufactured, on which was engraved
in Arabic—
Let God’s will be done.
God is sufficient for his servant.
Mohammed Al Amin.
Then addressing the assembled chiefs and notables from the various
tribes, he advised them to turn a deaf ear to the artful designs of the
courtiers and to obey him loyally. Then, at his order, the trumpets
proclaimed the accession of the new Sultan. Ibram was clothed in the
royal garments, and the procession set out for Birnin Kabela.
One of the first acts of sovereignty of the Sheikh was to permit the ex-
sultan Nguéléroma, exiled to Yamia, to once more approach the capital.
He installed him at Belangawa, north of Geidam on the River Wobe, where
he died some time afterwards.
Lamino also busied himself in organizing his household, which hitherto
had resembled the school of a famous ‘mallam’ rather than the dwelling
of a chief. His disciples were always coming and going, and allowed any
one who liked to penetrate into his presence. On his demand, forty
officials of the court of the Sultans of Bornu were sent to him; they
soon drove away the greater part of the students, and divided amongst
themselves the dignities of the new court.
This court was soon more brilliant than that of the nominal sultan
Ibram. The latter, in fact, only received annually from the Sheikh 1,000
dollars (about 5,000 francs), 1,000 gowns, 1,000 cloths, 100 camels, 100
horses, 100 oxen, 100 donkeys, 100 goats, and 100 sheep, whose total
value was less than 50,000 francs, which was very little to cover the
cost of maintaining his entourage. The courtiers therefore gradually
deserted him and went to live at the court of the Sheikh.
It is said that the latter, in order to affirm his authority, went out
one day from his apartments holding in each hand a gown, which he gave
as insignia of office to two slaves who were watching at his gate. The
one on the right was nominated Kachella of the Kubri Kanembu (the
Sheikh’s own tribe), and the one on the left Kachella of the Sugurti,
the best warriors of Bornu, who fought on foot, armed with the spear,
the bow, and the shield of ‘ambach’ wood.
At the same time he rebuilt his palace at Kukawa, which had been
pillaged and polluted by the Sultan of Baghirmi, and put himself in
communication with the Fulani Sultan of Sokoto, Mohammed Bello, the
Sarikin Mussulmi. To the latter he wrote as follows: ‘We profess the
same religion, and it is not fitting that our subjects should make war
on each other. Between our two kingdoms are the pagan Bedde tribes, on
whom it is permissible to levy contributions; let us respect this limit;
what lies to the west of their country shall be ours, what lies to the
east shall be yours; as for Munio, Damagaram, and Daura, they will
continue to be vassals of the Sultan of Bornu, who in return will
surrender to you all his pretensions to Gober and Katsena.’
Mohammed Bello replied that he accepted Lamino’s propositions, but the
two Mussulman chiefs would not, or could not, abide by their word, and
the Fulani incursions into Bornu continued as before.
EXPEDITION AGAINST BAGHIRMI
Sheikh Lamino never forgot a grievance and, when he could, repaid
twofold any evil that had been done him. As soon, therefore, as he had
reorganized and reinforced his army, his first expedition was directed
against the Baghirmi in order to avenge the intervention of Burgu Manda
against him some years before. So as to deceive the enemy, instead of
marching to the south of the Lake, where the Shari constitutes a
formidable obstacle, he marched round Chad to the north, and thus
arrived in Kanem without alarming his adversaries. A rapid march brought
him to Massenya before the Sultan of Baghirmi could assemble his
contingents, and it was then Burgu Manda’s turn to take to flight. He
fled for refuge to the Sara country, whilst Sheikh Lamino razed the
ramparts of his capital and destroyed his palace, the site of which was,
according to our informants, systematically polluted for a week by the
Bornu army. Then Lamino, having gained considerable booty and seen his
enemy fly before him, satisfied with his vengeance, crossed the Shari
and re-entered Bornu.
EXPEDITION AGAINST KANO
Every year in the autumn the Sheikh undertook some new expedition.
Tempted by the hope of a rich booty, he directed his army against Kano,
the wealthy commercial capital of the Central Sudan. Having arrived at
Gorko, a little distance from the town, he learnt that a strong Fulani
army, commanded by Yakubu, governor of Bauchi, was marching against him.
Lamino immediately sounded the retreat, but was overtaken by Yakubu at
Fake. Thanks to their fire-arms, the Kanuri repulsed the first attack of
their adversaries, who were only armed with spears and bows; then in
their turn they took the offensive, but without success. The two
parties, having each gained a slight advantage, then returned each to
their own country claiming for themselves a victory.
In the following autumn, Lamino renewed his attempt and was more
fortunate, for, if he did not succeed in penetrating into Kano, he was
able undisturbed to obtain possession of numerous villages, such as
Kanawa, Rimi, &c. As booty and not glory was always his object, he
returned to Bornu as soon as he considered his plunder sufficient.[493]
EXPEDITION AGAINST KATAGUM
The following year it was the turn of Katagum to be disturbed; but the
town, well defended, could not be taken in spite of a two months’ siege.
The Bornu army had to content itself with sacking all the surrounding
hamlets, and before retreating, it destroyed, out of spite, all the
growing crops. A great dearth resulted for this little country.
EXPEDITION AGAINST HADEIJA
A year later Sheikh Lamino laid siege to Hadeija. He pitched his camp on
the banks of the river, and summoned his vassals to aid him in his
enterprise, for the town resisted vigorously. Munio, Damagaram, Machena,
and Nguru obeyed; Tumbi dan Hawa, Sarikin Gummel, alone refused to join
them. An envoy from the Sheikh was sent to press him, but he replied:
‘If the Sheikh and his army can do without water for two days, let them
come here.’
EXPEDITION AGAINST GUMMEL
Lamino accepted the challenge. He crossed the uninhabited and waterless
zone, which for forty miles separated Hadeija from Malawa, to the east
of Dungass, not without losing numerous men and horses from thirst.
After resting three days, he sent a messenger to the Sultan of Gummel to
announce his arrival. Dan Hawa, panic-stricken, tried to obtain pardon
by sending him two ambassadors, Liman Bergoma[494] and Mallam Shetima
Kinguimi, accompanied by twenty young virgins, twenty young boys, twenty
camels loaded with presents, and 100 oxen. The Sheikh gave the embassy a
very unfriendly reception. ‘You have given evil counsel to dan Hawa,’
said he; ‘you deserve to die, but I pardon you in memory of the father
of Shetima Kinguimi, for as a young man I studied under his directions.’
Then, refusing the presents which they brought, he sent them back,
saying: ‘Let your master come in person.’
Dan Hawa, little reassured by the reception accorded to his envoys,
preferred to dispatch another ambassador to the Sheikh, one Shetima
Allah Rhama, with much more valuable gifts.
Lamino then appeared to be softened, and accepted the presents on
condition that the Sarikin Gummel came himself to ask his pardon. To
give him confidence, he said in Hausa to the envoy: ‘En ka kawo shi, ka
tashi da shi agaba nan,’ i.e. ‘if you bring him, you shall arise at the
same time as he in my presence.’
Dan Hawa was then reassured, and accompanied by Shetima dan Allah, he
repaired in person to the camp of the Sheikh. The latter made them sit
down in front of him, and when the Sarikin Gummel had expressed his
repentance, Lamino said to them: ‘Give each other your hands and get
up.’ They obeyed. ‘Now sit down again.’ They did so. Then addressing
Shetima, he said: ‘I promised you that if you brought me dan Hawa, you
should arise with him in my presence; I have kept my promise.’
He then handed over the Sarikin Gummel to the Galadima of Nguru. Now the
latter, who claimed hegemony over all the vassals of Bornu from the
north to the west, had long hated dan Hawa, who had always defied him,
so without delay he put him to death.
On learning of this summary execution, which had not been ordered by
him, Lamino was, or pretended to be, violently angry, and inflicted on
the Galadima a considerable fine.
He nominated as Sarikin Gummel, dan Tenoma, younger brother of dan Hawa,
and at the request of the new chief, decided that he should not have to
obey the Galadima of Nguru, but only Yerima Umar, his own son. He then
returned to Bornu.
EXPEDITION AGAINST NGURU
The Galadima of Nguru had been profoundly humiliated, and had sworn to
revenge himself. He soon assumed an independent attitude towards the
Sheikh, at the same time advising the other vassal states to imitate
him, but only Kosso, ex-sultan of Munio, joined him with a strong force
of Mangas.
It was therefore against Wari—a place which no longer exists, but which
was situated about thirty miles north-east of Kachellari—the capital of
Nguru, that Lamino directed his autumn expedition of the following year.
It is asserted that he camped opposite this town for a year and a half
without being able to take it, or even to secure any marked success
against the bands of horsemen that from time to time sallied out from
the walls. He then appealed to all his vassals, and when his troops were
sufficiently numerous, completely surrounded the fortifications. The
Galadima Umar, feeling that all was lost, made a desperate sortie,
succeeded in penetrating the besiegers’ lines and fled to Hadeija. On
the following day Kosso also made good his escape.
The inhabitants, thus deprived of their leaders, asked for peace. Lamino
demanded from them 100 slaves, 100 horses, 100 camels, and 100 oxen,
which were immediately delivered to him. He then ordered the destruction
of the ramparts. The inhabitants refused to consent, and hostilities
recommenced. After some time they made new proposals for peace, which
was offered on the same conditions as before. When these were fulfilled,
the Sheikh demanded the demolition of the fortifications. The
inhabitants again refused. There were fresh hostilities and fresh
successes on the part of the Sheikh. At last the inhabitants again asked
for peace, paid the tribute imposed on them, and then scattered.
Wari was delivered up to pillage, and then Lamino marched on Hadeija,
where the Galadima Umar had taken refuge. Thereupon the latter fled to
Sokoto and was replaced as Galadima of Nguru by his younger brother
Dunama.[495] The victorious Bornu army returned home and the Sheikh
allowed it two years’ repose.
A little later, Lamino, always excessively prone to suspicion, took
umbrage at the popularity acquired by a ‘Sufi’ mallam, whose school was
much frequented and who lived at Yale, to the north-east of Dikoa. He
repaired in person to Yale, where he learnt that the mallam was a Koiyam
of the Kullumfardo family, and quite devoid of ambition. At this
juncture the mallam became blind and the Sheikh, almost at the same
time, was attacked by a malady of the ear, from which he was destined
never to recover.
Almost at the same time Bohari, the Sultan of Hadeija, attacked Nguru
and raided the district of Selleri (Zagarari). Lamino was ill and unable
to take the field in person, but his son, Yerima Umar (later Shehu
Umar), took command of a strong expedition with which he advanced
rapidly into the invaded territory. Bohari had no alternative between a
difficult retreat and immediate submission, and having collected
considerable presents he repaired in person to Umar, did homage to him,
and was allowed to return to Hadeija.
Sheikh Lamino died soon afterwards, in 1835, leaving Bornu flourishing,
his family aggrandized, and the nominal sultan, Ibram, without the
slightest power. His son, Yerima Umar, then took the title of Sheikh (or
Shehu) and succeeded him without opposition as _de facto_ sovereign of
the kingdom.
FIRST REIGN OF SHEHU UMAR (1835-53)
One of the first acts of the new Shehu was to cut down by half the
meagre subsidy which his father had paid to the sultan Ibram. The latter
protested, but in vain, for the following year the subsidy was still
further reduced, and the third year he received almost nothing. Mallam
Amadu Gonimi, relying on the friendship shown him by the late Sheikh,
thrice made friendly representations to Umar, reminding him that it is
the part of a good son to act in all circumstances as his father had
acted, and requesting in consequence that he should allow Sultan Ibram
the same subsidies as he had been accustomed to receive from Sheikh
Lamino. Shehu Umar remained silent, but on the third occasion he
replied: ‘A son inherits his father’s property, not his character.’
Then Ibram, spurred by necessity, wrote to the Sultan of Wadai, Sherif
by name, begging him to come to his aid and rid Bornu of the Shehu and
his family. The army of Wadai was set in motion, but unfortunately Ibram
had confided the secret to one of his daughters, who in her turn
communicated it to her lover, a young relative of the Shehu. As soon as
he received the warning, the Sultan and seven of his advisers were
seized and thrown into prison. The Shehu then departed with his army to
arrest the invasion. The encounter took place on the banks of the Shari
at Kusseri (1846) and the Bornu army was completely routed. Umar, much
chagrined, returned in haste to Kukawa and had the Sultan and his
advisers, who had summoned the enemy into Bornu, immediately executed.
He then fled towards the north-west, taking refuge in the marshy country
of Bera, near Zigagué, on the banks of the River Wobe.
Meanwhile, the Sultan of Wadai continued his march on Kukawa, and
learning of the execution of Sultan Ibram, whom he had come to deliver,
proposed to replace him by Ali, son of the latter, a boy of seventeen.
But a Wadai man, called Ibrahim, settled at Kukawa, pleaded the cause of
Shehu Umar so well that the Sultan of Wadai dispatched the following
message:
‘If you consent to pay me $1,000, I will return to Wadai with my whole
army; otherwise I shall leave a strong guard with the young sultan to
protect him.’
‘Where can I get $1,000?’ replied the Shehu, for at this period silver
was rare in the country, and $1,000 constituted a very important sum.
But an Arab trader who happened to be in the country saw his opportunity
to make a big profit. He brought $600 to the Shehu, on condition that he
was repaid this sum in young girls, at the rate of $7 a head.[496] Then
Umar, having collected all the ornaments of his harem, was able to make
up the balance of $400, and sent the whole sum demanded. Sherif then
returned to Wadai, leaving the young sultan, Ali, under the sole guard
of the Kanembu and Sugurti.
Meanwhile, Durman (Abdurrahman, younger brother of the Shehu) happened
to be with an army in the north-west of Bornu, marching towards Zinder.
Ibrahim, sultan of this country, came to meet him with conciliatory
intentions and peace was concluded. Durman, recalled by his brother with
the idea of attacking the young sultan and regaining the reins of power,
then returned towards the River Wobe. On his arrival, however, Umar, who
was a bit of a poltroon, had changed his mind and suggested that they
should fly to Fezzan, their mother’s country.[497]
The younger brother replied: ‘As you seem but a womanish creature, go to
Fezzan if you like. I intend remaining in Bornu.’
Umar was thus shamed into fighting. The encounter took place at
Minargué, on the banks of the River Wobe. Barth calls the place Minarem.
Umar undertook to hold in check the cavalry of Ali, who were reputed to
be not very brave and only moderate horsemen, whilst the more valiant
Durman joined battle with the Kanembu and Sugurti infantry and put them
to rout. The young sultan was killed and Shehu Umar was able to re-enter
Kukawa as sole master henceforward of Bornu.
Two years later, desirous of strengthening his authority over his
western vassals, he proceeded to Zinder, whose sultan, Ibrahim, had
disregarded his orders. Ibrahim took to flight, but his brother Tenimu
repaired to the Shehu and got himself enthroned by him as Sultan of
Zinder. A mosque was built to commemorate this event and the Shehu
returned to Kukawa.
Five years later grave dissensions arose between him and his brother
Durman. The latter reproached him warmly with the affection which he
showed for one of his counsellors, Haj Beshir, whom he consulted on
every occasion and whose advice he followed in preference to that of his
brother. Old men, who were living at the time and whose memories are
still very clear, have informed us that the mutual affection of the
Shehu and his counsellor was greater than that of two brothers and
recalled that of husband and wife. Durman was much annoyed and told his
brother one day in the course of a violent quarrel that he had ‘the
spirit of a sheep’. He then fled.
Umar and his favourite, Haj Beshir, set off in pursuit, but when they
had nearly overtaken him, some of the Shehu’s other brothers, who had
followed the army, wrote to Durman in secret that they would not fight
against him. Durman immediately faced about and by a bold stroke
penetrated the camp and reached the very outskirts of the Shehu’s own
tents, in front of which he himself discharged several shots.
Umar and his favourite, stricken with panic, leaped on their horses and,
almost unaccompanied, fled to Kukawa without stopping. Haj Beshir
immediately collected all the wealth that he could carry away and
hastened to take refuge at Gulfei on the banks of the Shari, leaving the
Shehu at Kukawa to await events.
Meanwhile, Durman had been proclaimed Shehu by the army of Umar and re-
entered Kukawa at its head. Umar, relegated to the position of a simple
prince of the blood, had to leave the palace and was installed in his
brother’s private house.
REIGN OF DURMAN (ABDURRAHMAN), 1853-4
Durman had hardly been installed, when he charged his brother, Abba
Bukar Kura, to inform Haj Beshir, of whom he was a friend, that if he
would return at once to Kukawa he would grant him a pardon. At the
instance of his friend and after a long hesitation, Haj Beshir consented
to return. But as soon as he arrived Durman had him imprisoned, and
shortly afterwards, in spite of the prayers of his brother, incensed at
his ill faith, had him impaled.[498] This did not prevent him swearing
the same evening in the presence of all the courtiers that he had never
given the order for the execution of the unhappy man, but only that he
should be put in bonds.
Durman reigned a bare two years: his harsh character rendered him
unpopular with the courtiers, whilst he alienated the army by an
unsuccessful expedition against the Musgu, a people in the south of the
empire who refused to pay tribute. The malcontents resolved to replace
him as soon as he returned to Kukawa by Shehu Umar, whose accommodating
temper appeared all the more attractive since the autocratic character
of Durman kept constantly increasing.
But Durman was warned of the plot by one of his slaves, Mustapha Mutube.
He immediately assembled the courtiers and said to them: ‘I know that
you are plotting against me. If you want to replace me, do it at once;
don’t wait till I have returned to my palace.’
The courtiers exclaimed: ‘It is false! you have been deceived!’
Durman called the slave: ‘Who told you that a plot was being hatched
against me?’
‘It was Arri Fugumani, the chief of the slaves.’
Arri Fugumani, when questioned, said: ‘I was joking with Mustapha
Mutube; the whole thing is nothing but a jest, for which I ask pardon.’
Durman pardoned him, saying: ‘From henceforward let no one else come and
tell me lies.’
Two months passed, the army had returned to Kukawa, and the courtiers
began to conspire afresh.
Arri Fugumani said to Mustapha Mutube: ‘Yesterday’s lie may become to-
morrow’s truth. You would do well to inform the sultan.’ But Mustapha,
fearing to be again contradicted, dared not say anything.
The next morning all the courtiers assembled in the western town (Bela
Potebe) in front of Umar’s house, and the latter’s son, Yerima Bukar,
brought him the sultan’s drum and standard, the emblems of power. Then
forming in procession they advanced towards the eastern town (Bela
Gedibe), where the palace of Durman was situated. The latter, hearing
the sound of the trumpets and the cries of the mob, emerged in haste,
and with a few faithful followers engaged his adversaries in unequal
combat on the open space, called Gumsigine, between the eastern and the
western towns. Durman had his horse killed under him. He was immediately
brought the horse of one of his slaves, but he refused it, saying: ‘I
cannot mount a slave’s horse.’
His brother, Abba Bashir, then gave him his own horse to enable him to
fly; but he was unable to get far, and was soon afterwards captured and
brought back to Kukawa. Shehu Umar solemnly declared that he would not
harm him, and installed him in the house that he had himself just
quitted.
SECOND REIGN OF SHEHU UMAR (1854-81)
Three months later, fearing doubtless lest Durman should dethrone him a
second time, the Shehu assembled the principal mallams and asked them:
‘Is it better to kill one man than to allow ten to be killed? If one man
may cause the death of several others, may one get rid of that one?
Consult your own consciences and the Book and let me know your answer.’
All guessed that the Shehu alluded to a new civil war rendered possible
by a new rebellion on the part of Durman, and they replied: ‘Certainly
it is better to execute one man than to allow ten to be killed,
especially if it is the one man who may cause the death of the others.’
Thereupon Shehu Umar gave orders to his head-slave to go and put his
brother to death,[499] but to act discreetly so that his death should
remain uncertain for some time. His orders were obeyed, and henceforward
Shehu Umar enjoyed a peaceful tenure of power. But if the Shehu himself
was of a pacific temper, the same was not true of his son, Yerima Bukar,
a brave, bold and energetic prince, fond of war and booty.
EXPEDITION AGAINST THE NGIZIMS, 1855 (?)
Yerima Bukar’s first expedition was directed against the Ngizims, a
pagan tribe, said to be descended from the Sos, and living to the south
of the Bedde country. Having paid tribute to the Sultan of Sokoto, they
naturally refused to pay a second time to the Sultan of Bornu. Moreover,
they defended themselves courageously when Bukar entered their country.
The campaign, which lasted five months, was a very arduous one for the
Kanuri, but, on the other hand, they gained much booty, principally in
slaves.
EXPEDITION AGAINST THE MUSGU
The Shehu succeeded in restraining for five years the bellicose temper
of his son; but the Musgu, against whom Durman had already had to take
severe measures during his short reign, having again refused to pay
tribute, Yerima Bukar had to direct four successive expeditions against
them in order to obtain their submission (1861-5).
EXPEDITION AGAINST ADAMAWA
It was next the turn of Adamawa, a very hilly country to the south of
the Benue, to suffer invasion. The rich town of Balbaya was captured,
but all the camels and the greater part of the horses of the army
perished. The troops were soon in such a state of destitution that the
Shehu had to send in haste both horses and clothes to enable his son to
make an honourable entry into Kukawa (1866).
AGAINST THE BEDDES
Two years of peace followed, and then Yerima Bukar had to subdue the
Beddes, who had refused to pay tribute, and had driven away the Shehu’s
envoys, 1869.
AGAINST FIKA AND BAUCHI
The following year he had to subdue Fika, an important group of towns,
situated to the east of Gujba, whose inhabitants had driven away the
Shehu’s representative, Kachella Abdullahi, son of Kachella Arri Marghi,
who had been appointed to this district on the death of his father.
Bukar destroyed the fortifications of the town,[500] imposed a heavy
tribute on the inhabitants, and continued his march westwards on his way
to attack the town of Misau, situated to the north of Bauchi and a
tributary of the Fulani. But he was at once recalled by his father, who
did not wish to involve himself in difficulties with the Sultan of
Sokoto (1870).
AGAINST THE BEDDES
Bukar was not at all anxious to return. He therefore ceased to attack
the Fulani, but remained on the western frontier of Bornu raiding and
plundering far and wide, and gradually approaching the Beddes, whose
submission had been far from satisfactory. But the rainy season was
approaching, and his lieutenants feared its effects on their cavalry.
They therefore advised Al Haji, the Bedde chief, to pay a certain amount
of tribute to Bukar, and at the same time begged Shehu Umar to give his
son formal orders to return to Kukawa (1872).
AGAINST KUSSERI
Bukar had never forgotten the help which the inhabitants of Kusseri had
given to the Sultan of Wadai, when, summoned by Ibram, he invaded Bornu
and obliged his father to take to flight. It was they who had assisted
the passage of the Wadai army by showing them a ford, and a number of
them had joined the invaders of Bornu. Always on the look-out for
somewhere to attack, Bukar obtained leave from his father to march
against this town. The battle was just about to begin when an order
arrived from Shehu Umar instructing him to make peace, as the
inhabitants of Kusseri had hastily sent to Kukawa a tribute of 300
slaves. The army had to return to Bornu without fighting, but not
without having partly ravaged the banks of the Logone and sacked the
town of Ngurkum (1879).
Two years later Bukar asked leave from his father to go on an
expedition, but this time without telling him whither. The Shehu, now an
old man and not daring any longer to refuse him anything, allowed him to
set out, and Bukar took advantage of this to renew his designs against
Kusseri.
He had arrived in front of the town, when he received a message from his
mother telling him that the Shehu was at his last gasp, and that, unless
he returned within five days, the courtiers would nominate some one else
as Shehu.
Bukar set out at once and arrived in Kukawa on the fourth day. The Shehu
was still alive, but the principal eunuchs prevented Bukar from seeing
him, fearing that before he died Umar would designate Bukar as his
successor. Those eunuchs wished Bukar to owe the throne to themselves in
order that they might make large profits. Three days afterwards, about
two o’clock in the afternoon, the Shehu breathed his last without having
seen his son (1881).
The chief eunuchs, Malla Kerim, Yiroma, and Mestrema, deliberated over
the choice of a successor. They dreaded the accession of Bukar, whose
firm and haughty character had, in his father’s lifetime, more than once
disappointed their schemes. Malla Kerim, who of the three commanded the
most warriors, made up his mind the first. Taking the ring, rosary, and
cap of Shehu Umar, and leaving Mestrema to watch the corpse, he repaired
in company with Yiroma to Bukar. Giving him the ring, &c., he said:
‘Your father is dead, here are the emblems of power.’
Bukar refused to accept them except in the presence of numerous
witnesses, and summoned his son, Kiari, and his friends, Kassim, Bunu,
Abana, Lamino, and his principal slaves. Having informed them of the
death of his father he ordered them to assemble his troops. A procession
of horse and foot was then formed, and they proceeded to the palace,
whose four gates were guarded by the troops of Malla Kerim and could not
be opened except in his presence. When they reached the corpse, the
chief eunuch raised the shroud and said: ‘Behold, he is dead, we resign
him to you for burial.’
He then put the dead man’s ring on Bukar’s finger, his rosary round his
neck, and his cap on his head. Outside the drums beat and announced to
the people by their slow and measured roll the death of the old Shehu
and the proclamation of the new. The Liman, the Legari, and the Talba
came to wash the dead, and having assembled all the mallams, celebrated
the obsequies that same night.
REIGN OF SHEHU BUKAR (1881-4)
The next morning very early the crowd of courtiers and notables
assembled at the palace. Shetima, descendant of the ancient Tubba
sultans of Bornu, gave the investiture to Bukar by clothing him in the
royal gown and turban, and according to custom asked him: ‘What province
will you give me?’
‘I grant you the Kagaburi country,’ replied the new Shehu.
The Shehu’s relatives then came to swear fidelity to him, and the
ceremony of investiture ended with a great noise of drums, trumpets, and
other instruments of music.
For seven days Bukar only resided in the palace during the daytime,
passing the night in his own house. On the seventh day he distributed
alms in memory of his father, and installed himself definitely in the
palace, leaving his own house and all that was in it, except his women,
to his son Kiari.
His first thought was to restore order in the country. ‘Hitherto’, said
he, ‘you have been plunderers of whom I was the chief. Henceforward, I
shall tolerate no more plundering, and I shall punish without fail any
one who disobeys me.’
During the second year of his reign he made an expedition against the
Beddes, and captured the towns of Kadera, Aburraga, and Tagari.
The following year he had to repress a revolt of the people of Mulgue in
the south of Bornu; but for this expedition he could only gather a few
troops, for his subjects, tired of the constant wars in which he
involved them, made but a poor response to his summons; some only sent a
slave, others a son, others again no one at all.
The Shehu was much annoyed, and as soon as he returned to Kukawa he
summoned a great meeting, where he announced that in order to punish his
subjects for their half-hearted obedience he should inflict on all a
fine equal to half their property. Soon afterwards long caravans of
slaves and animals loaded with produce of all sorts might be seen
entering the capital every day. Never before had such wealth been
accumulated in the palace of the Shehu.
But the common people and the notables murmured loudly. Everywhere in
all the villages was to be heard the same malediction: ‘May God cut him
off and rid us of him.’
As it chanced the Shehu did die soon afterwards, long before he had seen
paid in full the formidable fine which he had inflicted on his subjects,
and every one agreed that God had heard the unanimous prayer of an
oppressed nation (1884).
REIGN OF IBRAHIM (1884-5)
On the death of Shehu Bukar the courtiers chose as his successor his
uncle, Abba Mustapha, younger brother of Shehu Umar. But, as a result of
intrigues, there was a sudden change, and the next morning the high
dignitaries of the Court proclaimed Ibrahim, younger brother of Shehu
Bukar.
Abba Mustapha, chagrined at thus being deceived, at first refused to
take the oath of allegiance and sought refuge in flight. But he soon
returned on a promise from his nephew that his life would be spared.
Ibrahim, however, did not keep his promise, and Mustapha was soon
afterwards assassinated.[501] He himself died after reigning one year
without having been able to undertake any expedition.
REIGN OF ASHIMI (1885-93)
His younger brother, Ashimi, third son of Shehu Umar, was chosen to
succeed him. After a pacific reign of eight years he was obliged to take
up arms to defend his kingdom against the invasion of Rabeh, advancing
from Baghirmi.
To repulse the invader he sent to meet him an army of 30,000 men, under
the orders of Mohammed Tar, son of Amadu Guimi. The encounter took place
a little to the south of Ngala, at Ngamagué, in April 1893.
Rabeh, who could only muster 3,000 men, took care to camp on the border
of a marsh, which served to protect him against a surprise by the
enemy’s cavalry, who were much superior in number. Mohammed Tar,
presumptuous and imprudent, got entangled in the marsh, the horses were
mired, and those of their riders who could not succeed in disengaging
themselves were massacred in great numbers by the enemy’s gun-men.
On hearing the news of the disaster Ashimi organized a second army more
numerous than the first, put himself at their head and marched against
Rabeh. In spite of the support of several heavy cannon, sent him by the
Sultan of Zinder, his troops lacked confidence. The Bornu army fled at
the first charge and the flight was soon changed into a rout. Ashimi
returned in hot haste to Kukawa in order to dispatch his most precious
possessions north-westwards, and to fly himself as soon as possible.
It is said that he left Kukawa one Saturday evening and that the
conqueror entered the town on Sunday morning. Rabeh immediately launched
a column commanded by Abba Bukar in pursuit of the fugitive Shehu.
Ashimi was overtaken at Lumburem, on the River Wobe, east of Duchi, and
had barely time to escape, leaving in the hands of the enemy all his
baggage, his animals, his slaves, and even his women.
The scattered Kanuri then nominated as Shehu his nephew Kiari. The
latter declared his intention of marching without delay against the
invader, but his partisans, alarmed at such audacity, immediately
abandoned him and rallied once more round Ashimi, whose defeats had made
him prudent. Kiari then accused his uncle of compromising with the enemy
and had him assassinated.
REIGN OF KIARI (1893)
Three months later Rabeh advanced in person against those of the Kanuri
who still maintained their independence on the banks of the River Wobe.
Kiari assembled his forces and marched against him. The encounter took
place at Gashagar. The Bornu army fought valiantly, but when their chief
was wounded they gave ground.[502] Kiari, who refused to fly, was
captured and taken to Rabeh, who had him executed. Thus perished the
last independent Sultan of Bornu.
[Footnote 491: By kind permission of Commandant Tilho.]
[Footnote 492: There is no trace of this site to-day, but it was just
north-west of Ngornu and in sight of that town.]
[Footnote 493: For another account of Lamino’s Kano campaign, vid.
Appendix VI.]
[Footnote 494: Bergoma was the father of Shetima, Alkali of Zinder in
1907, who confirmed this information.]
[Footnote 495: Umar afterwards returned, Dunama fled, and Umar was
recognized by the Shehu as Galadima.]
[Footnote 496: Young girls then averaged $40 a head in Bornu and $200 on
the Mediterranean coast.]
[Footnote 497: According to some authorities, Shehu Umar was the son of
a slave given to Lamino by Mai Dunama and already enceinte when she
entered the Sheikh’s harem.]
[Footnote 498: Vogel says ‘bowstrung’, vid. p. 272, Benton, _Notes on
Some Languages_, &c.]
[Footnote 499: According to Vogel he was ‘strangled’, vid. p. 277,
Benton, _Notes on Some Languages_, &c.]
[Footnote 500: If this means Fika town itself the statement is
incorrect, it was never captured either by Kanuri or Fulani.]
[Footnote 501: For another account of Abba Masta’s rebellion, vid.
Appendix VII.]
[Footnote 502: [According to Gaston Dujarric, _Vie du Sultan Rabah_, the
Kanuri were at first victorious but scattered to plunder the enemy’s
camp. Rabeh, who as usual, had kept a strong body of gun-men as a
reserve, rallied his troops, gave all his generals—including his son,
Fadel Allah, whose arm had been broken by a musket-ball—100 lashes
apiece, and sent them forward to victory.—P. A. B.]]
APPENDIX V
ACCOUNT OF RABEH
The following translation of a German account of Rabeh, written in 1899,
is not without interest, though of course it is in several instances
inaccurate. Herr Lippert’s chief informant appears to have been a man
from Ghat. His Hausa is not always unexceptionable, and there is nothing
to show that he was ever in Bornu or was actually an eyewitness of the
events he describes. His account of Rabeh’s campaigns should be compared
with that given in Decorse et Demombyne’s _Rabah et les Arabes du
Shari_, and in Dujarric’s _Vie de Rabah_. Rabeh did not die of poison in
1897 but was killed in battle by the French in 1900.
_Mittheilungen des Seminars für Orientalische Sprachen_ (Berlin) for
1899.
RABAH[503] by JULIUS LIPPERT
‘History is made by personalities.’ This maxim only holds good in a very
limited sense for western states, but as regards the historical changes
in the ‘Dark Continent’, and especially in the Sudan, it is absolutely
true. The negro is entirely deficient in public spirit and other
political virtues. In the same degree as the idea of the state is
foreign to him,[504] he lacks also the sense of patriotism and loyalty
to a dynasty. It remains a matter of indifference to him whom he serves,
so long as he can do so with tolerable security for life and liberty. It
is only by such considerations that the success is explicable of bold
adventurers, who, relying on nothing but intelligence and energy above
the average and the support of a handful of devoted adherents, were able
to carve out mighty empires for themselves and overthrow ancient
kingdoms, who owed their hundreds of years of existence solely to a
political _vis inertiae_ similar to their own on the part of the
neighbouring states. Thus we see, to quote only two examples, how at the
beginning of the nineteenth century Othman dan Fodio[505] with his
numerically infinitely weaker Fulani conquered the various Hausa states
and welded them into the kingdom of Sokoto. The Mahdi likewise in the
’eighties subdued the Egyptian Sudan for a time in spite of European
administration. Now it may indeed be urged that both these men appeared
also as religious reformers; and religious fanaticism is certainly
always a mighty factor in favour of success. But in the case of Samory,
whose capture the newspapers announced a few weeks ago, it was solely
the power of personality, which enabled him after being expelled from
one territory to conquer in a very short time a new dominion about as
large as Germany, and since 1885 to oppose unaided with more or less
success the superior military skill of the French.[506] It was personal
ability also which enabled Rabeh, the brickmaker’s son, to raise himself
to the position of king of the powerful state of Bornu, and would have
let him accomplish even greater things, had not the assassin’s poison
put a premature end to his career of conquest. Just in the last few
weeks all kinds of accounts of this man have been current in the
newspapers. These accounts, derived from a letter of the French
traveller, Bonnel de Mezières,[507] specially concern us Germans,
inasmuch as the scene of the events therein described is situated in the
hinterland of our colony of the Kameruns; but it may also be of
universal interest to find briefly described here the life and death of
this personality.
My sources of information are chiefly the two documents printed with a
translation in the appendix to this article.
1. A biography of Rabeh in Hausa, written down for me by Mohammed
Beshir-al-Ghati, Reader in the Berlin School of Oriental Languages.
2. An Arabic letter to Mohammed Beshir from Abd-el-Kader ibn Al-Haji
Isa Muzi from Ghadames, concerning the death of Rabeh.
In so far as I have made use of other sources of information, I have
noted them in the proper places.
Rabeh (i.e. the victor) belonged, like Zobehr Pasha, to the Arab family
of the Ja’alin, who have their domicile on the upper Nile round about
Khartum, but who are distributed all over the Eastern Sudan, and even as
far as Bornu,[508] as Jellaba (i.e. importers, petty traders). His
father was a poor brickmaker, who gained an honest livelihood by the
work of his hands. That Rabeh has sometimes been falsely described as a
slave of Zobehr’s is to be attributed to the fact that he attached
himself in early youth to that extraordinary man, who, prior to his
appearance as a public official, carried on the business of slave-
raiding. Rabeh early became a loyal friend and useful assistant in
Zobehr’s undertakings. It is certain that he took an active part both in
the subjugation of the Bahr-el-Ghazal Province and in the conquest of
Darfur. After Zobehr had gone on a mission of complaint to the Khedive
in Cairo and had been detained in custody there, his son Suleiman, whom
he had left behind as his representative, was driven by intrigues into
rebellion, and Rabeh became one of the most prominent sub-commanders in
the rebel army. The fortune of war was not favourable to the insurgents.
After being totally defeated on repeated occasions, they were summoned
by Gessi, the commander of the Government troops, to cease further
resistance as useless and to surrender to him under promise of amnesty.
In the rebel council of war which met to discuss these propositions,
Suleiman and the majority of his lieutenants showed themselves inclined
to capitulate on these terms, but Rabeh spoke energetically against the
proposal. His advice was, either, at the price of abandoning the
territories hitherto connected with their rule, to push westward with
their forces, still by no means inconsiderable, where it would be easy
to conquer a new dominion; or, if they were quite tired of fighting, to
surrender not to Gessi, but direct to the Government authorities in
Khartum. If neither of these two proposals should find acceptance, he
would find himself compelled to separate from his former comrades and
act on his own account. Neither alternative of Rabeh’s extremely
judicious counsel was attended to; Suleiman and the majority of his sub-
commanders gave themselves up to Gessi,[509] but Rabeh, after an
affecting leave-taking from his old comrades-in-arms, marched away with
his own troops, and those who had joined him from other detachments, to
his camp in the uncertain future, accompanied by the notes of the far-
sounding war-horn.[510]
At this point it may be fitting to insert a few words as to the
resources which, at the outset, Rabeh was able to dispose of. I do not
think that his army was ever at any one time much over 3,000 strong.
Moreover, it was certainly only the minority of these troops that
consisted of Ja’alin and Arabs of other tribes, though they formed the
cavalry of the army, while the greater part must have been supplied
according to requirements from the ‘Basingers’, i.e. negro soldiers
disciplined on European lines, selected from captured slaves. One may
quite fittingly compare them with the Mamelukes of Egypt or the Turkish
Janissaries. From what I have heard from eyewitnesses of Rabeh’s battles
in Bornu, he must also have had artillery at his disposal. It is not
only obvious but confirmed by the course of events, that these well-
armed and well-disciplined troops, in spite of their numerical weakness,
represented a formidable force when opposed to barbarous negro empires,
to whom fire-arms were certainly no longer entirely unknown, but amongst
whom they had not long been in exclusive use.[511]
II
With regard to the first decade (1880-90) of Rabeh’s adventurous career,
only vague and scanty accounts are forthcoming to enable us to attain an
assured knowledge of events. According to Mohammed’s information, he
first of all invaded the country of the Dinkas (at the confluence of the
Bahr-el-Ghazal and the Nile) and waged war with this tribe for three
years. It is evident that this statement is based on a confusion with
the before-mentioned conquest of the Bahr-el-Ghazal province by Zobehr.
Ferryman states in his recently published work,[512] that Rabeh and his
troops turned northwards, and after twice defeating the Sultan of Borku,
received permission from him to establish themselves in the southern
border districts of his empire. It must have been here that Rabeh, as
well as the above-mentioned Sultan, received an invitation from the
Mahdi, who had meanwhile seized possession of the whole Egyptian Sudan,
to ally themselves with the new state, a course which they both declined
with scorn. In the lengthy struggle that followed between the Mahdists
and the border tribes belonging to the Sennusiya between Darfur and
Wadai, Rabeh must have taken a vigorous part. So Ferryman says. I am
able to refute this statement, which is offered without the slightest
authority being quoted, as I consider it improbable from an impartial
point of view. Borku is a small group of oases south-east of Tibesti,
whose population Nachtigal asserts to be from 10,000 to 12,000.[513] To
reach Borku from Gerra (in Southern Darfur), where Suleiman’s camp was
situated at the time of his surrender, Rabeh would have to traverse
either Darfur, occupied throughout its extent by the Egyptian troops, or
else Northern Wadai, inhabited by wild hill-tribes, and make moreover a
not inconsiderable desert march. Under these circumstances I cannot
conceive what could have caused him to be attracted to this small and
remote group of oases, where certainly much fighting but little booty
was to be expected. Slatin Pasha states briefly that he was removed to
‘the remote districts of the south-west’.[514] This statement has very
great probability on its side. Even Ferryman admits that he lived in the
country of the Banda and Fertit before his attack on Bagirmi.[515] In
the midst of these and other pagan Nyamnyam tribes south of Darfur and
north of Upper Uele he found what he needed, viz. a suitable field for
the capture of slaves, of whom he was in constant want as a medium of
exchange for weapons and munitions. A full decade seems to have elapsed
before the burning of towns and villages, necessarily consequent on his
slave-raids, changed into a wilderness this formerly populous and
flourishing district. It then became necessary to find a new field for
this form of activity, which in Moslem eyes is by no means disgraceful,
provided it is exercised at the expense of idolaters. He was prevented
from penetrating farther south, where booty was easiest to be obtained,
by considerations regarding the supply of munitions, which he procured
from the north through the medium of his fellow-tribesmen, the Jellaba.
For this reason he turned north-west and attempted to overrun the
kingdom of Wadai. But here he must have met with energetic resistance,
as was only to be expected from the close political organization of this
coveted empire.[516] So after a short time he desisted from his attempts
on Wadai, and made an incursion with his troops into Bagirmi, which lies
to the south-west of the latter. Ferryman is aware[517] that during his
stay in Dar-Banda and Dar-Fertit, Rabeh addressed a request to the
Sultan of Bagirmi that he would promise a free passage from Kukawa, the
capital of Bornu, through Bagirmi to his traders for the purpose of
supplying him with munitions. Rabeh swore revenge against the Sultan for
not complying with this request; he was at present, however, denied the
opportunity of satisfying this feeling. The Sultan of Bagirmi sought in
vain for assistance from the Courts of Wadai and Bornu. Refusing to
acquiesce, yet not in a position to make head against his dreaded
opponent in open battle, he threw himself into his fortified capital of
Masseña, and surrendered the open country to the enemy. Rabeh quartered
himself on the country in his usual fashion, collected a rich booty in
slaves, and possessed himself of several of the larger towns, such as
Gulfei and Logone. But he had no intention of establishing himself
permanently in the country. He was inclined to this course by misleading
reports that had reached him of the natural riches of Bornu and of its
internal rottenness. He seems to have prepared long beforehand for an
attack on this empire, whose prestige among the neighbouring peoples was
still very great in spite of its rotten internal condition. He first
sent secret emissaries charged to stir up the political differences,
which, thanks to the weakness of the royal authority, consisted chiefly
in the mutual rivalries of the court dignitaries, and at the same time
to create a disposition favourable to himself. He then allied himself
with the Fulani chieftain, Mallam[518] Hayatu, of Jamare, for the
purpose of a joint invasion of Bornu. This prince, who, in contrast to
the feeble successors on the throne of Sokoto of the great Othman dan
Fodio, showed once more something of the warlike and statesmanlike
ability of his ancestor, was at once ready for the undertaking against
the hereditary enemy of the Fulani. Their united troops advanced into
Bornu and pushed their way unopposed right up to the walls of Kukawa.
The Sultan,[519] Abba Ashimi, here faced them for the first time, and
thanks to superior forces succeeded in repulsing the assailants. Rabeh
now spent several months in Bornu territory in a difficult position,
during which the provisioning of his troops especially caused him great
anxiety. It was just while he was at the height of his distress that the
seed sown by his envoys reached maturity. Rabeh received an invitation
from one of the chief Bornu court dignitaries to return to Kukawa, where
he would assist him to obtain the mastery. He naturally did not wait to
be asked twice, but immediately advanced again on the capital. Another
battle was fought in front of the gates of the palace, and this time
Rabeh was victorious, chiefly owing to his artillery, to which the enemy
could oppose nothing similar. Abba Ashimi himself remained on the
field.[520] In the campaign which followed and which led to the capture
of the capital, his two nephews and successors, Abba Kiari and Abba
Sanda[521] were slain. The conqueror entered Kukawa as the new
Sultan.[522]
III
This event forms a turning-point in the history of Rabeh. Whilst he had
hitherto been more or less a mere adventurer, he had now become at one
blow the ruler of one of the most powerful Sultanates of the Sudan.
Remembering the practical bent of his mind with its grasp of
actualities, one might expect that he would at once be conscious of the
problems and duties of his new position and that he would proceed
energetically towards their accomplishment. Nor did he disappoint such
expectations. He sought to revive the caravan-trade with Tripoli, which
had been brought to a standstill owing to the unrest of recent years, by
giving the traders assurance of the most perfect security, and by other
concessions. His endeavours in this respect met with success.[523] He
also entered into trade relations with the British ‘Niger Company’.[524]
He removed his head-quarters from Kukawa, which is extremely
unhealthy,[525] particularly in the rainy season, to the charmingly
situated town of Dikoa,[526] on the Alo river south-east of Lake Chad.
For the better protection of the frontier of his newly-won territory, he
left strong garrisons in Gulfei on the Shari, and in Kusseri and Logone
on the River Logone. In order to found a dynasty, whose legitimacy
should be acknowledged even by the rulers of the neighbouring kingdoms,
he married a daughter of his ally, Mallam Hayatu, who, on his side, took
to wife a daughter of Rabeh’s.
His energetic never-resting nature caused this internal political
activity to be accompanied by efforts to enlarge his territory. He first
attempted to chastise the hill tribes of Mandara, dwelling to the south
of Bornu, who had made themselves troublesome by occasional plundering
expeditions into the southerly districts of the empire. The aged king of
Mandara himself fell into the hands of a punitive expedition. But, while
Rabeh resolved humanely enough to dismiss the old man unharmed to his
home, the latter’s son and successor allowed a son of Rabeh’s, who had
fallen into captivity, to be executed. Another expedition—to Bedde—was
certainly not designed for the occupation of this country, but for the
capture of numerous slaves, who were carried off as welcome booty to
Bornu. A raid into Miga[527] country had the same successful result. On
the other hand, an expedition against Katagum miscarried; the valiant
stand made by the king of this country forced Rabeh to retreat hurriedly
on Bornu. The King of Misau got wind beforehand of an undertaking that
had been planned against his country, and hastened to conclude an
offensive and defensive alliance with the neighbouring rulers of Shira
and Gombe in order to meet the threatened danger. When united they felt
themselves strong enough to advance and attack Rabeh. The opposing
armies came into collision on the march. A battle resulted, and after a
desperate struggle Rabeh’s superior military skill secured him the
victory. The losses of the allies were extraordinarily heavy; the King
of Gombe himself was among the fallen. But even for the victor the day
must have been very costly; for he returned to Bornu without further
results.
So long as Rabeh confined his attacks to the small tribes living between
Bornu and Sokoto—buffer-states one would call them in modern
parlance—everything went very smoothly. But it is obvious that the
moment he attacked the territory of a large neighbouring kingdom,
complications of immeasurable import were bound to ensue. Such
complications took place when he invaded Adamawa,[528] the great south-
eastern vassal state of Sokoto, whence he brought home vast booty,
especially in slaves. The governors of the neighbouring Hausa states
then recovered from the indolence, with which they had hitherto viewed
the success of Rabeh, and entered on an energetic course of action. They
had to be prepared for the fact that it might be themselves on whom he
would next lay hands. Fright effected what political insight had been
unable to accomplish; they formed themselves into a league for the
purpose of common defence in case of an attack on one of the
confederates. Especially serious for Rabeh was the fact that his father-
in-law and former ally, Hayatu, joined the league. Although he had
founded his kingdom of Jamare in political rivalry with the Court of
Wurno,[529] he was Fulani enough at heart to feel that the interests of
his fellow tribesmen were not different from his own, in so far as the
to be or not to be depended on himself. At first he attempted to
intervene diplomatically. But when Rabeh, fully conscious of his power,
haughtily repulsed these attempts, Hayatu came forward as leader at the
head of the league. It may be that Rabeh feared the military force of
the league, or the power of England that stood behind it, or something
else; at any rate it is certain that for a time he abstained from
further attempts against Sokoto—though an expedition against Kano may
have been contemplated—and turned his attention to a problem which
awaited solution within the compass of his own empire, viz. the
reconquest of the recalcitrant Governor of Zinder. Zinder was the most
north-westerly province of Bornu, but its governor had frequently shown
himself refractory even in Shehu Umar’s time,[530] and had taken
advantage of the confusion of recent years to free himself of even
nominal dependence, and had also annexed the province of Munio which lay
to the east of his own territory. After careful preparation Rabeh set
out about the beginning of 1897; he was destined never to return to his
capital alive. Mallam Hayatu, who, following in the lines of Oriental
despots, thought cunning the better part of valour, got poison
administered to him on the way to Zinder by means of his daughter, who,
as mentioned above, had been married to Rabeh. Thus perished, in the
midst of his activity, the still vigorous warrior at the age of fifty-
eight.[531]
In criticizing Rabeh we must be careful not to adopt the standpoint of
Christian humanity; the character of his people and of his religion must
be taken into consideration, which declare as permissible many things
that are held by us to be abominably cruel. Thousands of unfortunates
were enslaved by him and sold either in the Sudan itself or sent to
North Africa. I have myself seen in Tunis and Tripoli quite a number of
individuals who were recognizable as Rabeh’s slaves by the three oblique
scars on each cheek. Any one who is acquainted with the conditions knows
that for each of the slaves who reached their journey’s end, one must
add at least five other individuals who perished either in the slave
raids of the foregoing campaigns, on the journey, or through sickness
following on a change of climate. This sum total of misery and
destruction of family happiness constitutes a terrible indictment
against their originator, but we must also again recollect that these
slave raids were not for Rabeh an end in themselves, but only a means to
an end, and that he not only understood how to destroy, but also how to
build up. When we consider that, after becoming Sultan of Bornu, he
endeavoured energetically to raise the condition of the country by a
whole succession of peaceful measures, we can reconcile ourselves in
some degree to his misdeeds; in fact, we may summarize our judgement of
him by saying that he was—in the Shakespearian sense—a man. If one looks
at the matter properly he may be described as the leaven of the Sudan;
for Bornu, in particular, his mission was as much an historical
necessity as the migration of nations was for the Roman Empire. As to
whether his dynasty will have any permanence, who can tell? If it
perishes with him, the fault lies not on him but adverse circumstances.
All that I have been able to discover as to the course of events after
his death, is that one of his freedmen has undertaken the regency in the
name of his son, who is still a minor, and that he has known how to
guard up to the present the integrity of the empire. When M. Bonnel de
Mezières,[532] and after him the newspapers, announce that Rabeh has
banished Gaurang, King of Bagirmi, and occupied his capital, Masseña, it
can only refer to this regent, even assuming that the news in this form
proves right at all. At the same time it is not impossible that the
conqueror is the King of Wadai, who certainly stands in the position of
suzerain of Bagirmi.[533] Certainly once before, when the vassal chief,
Abu Sikkin, showed himself recalcitrant, Masseña was occupied by King
Ali of Wadai after a siege lasting several months.[534] In any case it
is an exquisite irony of fate to see how the actors of the drama
produced here are intermingled with one another, and behave themselves
as if there was no world outside their own, whilst all the time the die
has long been cast against them, and they have been divided up among the
European Powers.
HISTORY OF RABEH ACCORDING TO MOHAMMED BESHIR
usili rabeh. ubansa mutum jalaba shi da basha alzubair mutane jalaba.
uban rabeh shina yi gini kasa, talaka ne. babu shina da komi. rabeh ya
tafi wurin basha alzubair ya zama galadimansa. suna tafiya darfur suna
yi yaki dasu shekaru biyar. su ji labarin mutane masr su da ingliz suka
tafi achikin darfur. su yi masa hila wayo suka che ka tafo. ya zo basha
alzubair, su kama shi. galadimansa rabeh ya gudu ya tafi agarin janke
(dinka) ya tafi shi da dakaransa shina yi yaki achikin janke shekaransa
oku. ya tashi ya tafi agarin wadai shina yi yaki kwanansa goma sha
bokkoi achikin kauye. ya tafi agarin bagirmi shina yi yaki da sarikin
bagirmi shekaransa biyu. achikin bagirmi shina aikewa achikin
barnuh[535] da samo shina yi magani dakeau domi bakinsu shi banban suna
yi fada. ya rubutu ga malam hayatu laya ya che masa ina sonka da abuta.
mallam hayatu ya che kua, nima ina sonka amma ka zo mu yi shawara zamu
chi barnuh. rabeh ya che to mu gamu achikin hanya. ya tashi su gamu suka
che mu je achikin barnuh mu chi barnuh. sarikin barnuh ya ji labari suna
taruwa dayawa ya che ku yi shiri dakeau. rabeh ya zo barnuh achikin
kofan gari, sarikin barnuh ya fita suna yi fada, sarikin barnuh ya kore
rabeh. ya tafi akauye ya zamna, shina yi yungwa watansa tara achikin
ankalaiwa suna zamne wuri daya. da su samau chimaka su komo achikin
barnuh sun yi yaki. sarikin barnuh dakaransa su gudu suna barshi shina
yi fada su kasheshi; aba hashim dafari aba kiari da aba sanda dan uwan
aba kiari, su mutu. ya shiga barnuh ya zamna shekaransa oku da shashi.
ya tafi agarin sarikin mandara ya kai yaki achikin mandara. ya kama
sarikin mandara zofo ne ya kawoshi achikin barnuh. yaro sarikin mandara
ya kama yaron rabeh. rabeh ya che da mutaninsa kada ku kasheshi wanan
zofo ne. ya che masa yaron sarikin mandara aiko mani da ubana. ya che
masa zan kasheshi zofo ya che, kadan na mutu da. safi kai kua ka mutu da
azafari.[536] ya sakeshi ya tafi agarinsa mandara.
saura maganan rabeh. basha malla karim na chikin barnuh ya aike[537]
wurin rabeh ya che, ka zo ka shiga achikin garin barnuh. ya che ina da
yungwa babu abinchi. sun tafo su shiga achikin gari ya zama sarikinsu.
ya zauna watansa fudu ya tashi ya tafi achikin garin bade shina yi yaki
da su, allah ya bashi nasara. ya kama mutane bade ya damresu achikin
sasari ya kawosu achikin barnuh. ya koma ya tafi agarin mika suna yi
yaki da sarikin mika. allah ya bashi nasara ya kashesu. ya tafi agarin
katagum suna yi fada dakeau. sarikin katagum ya koreshi ya gudu ya komo
achikin garinsa barnuh. ya zamna watansa biyar ya tashi ya tafi agarin
miso. sarikin miso ya fita suna yi yaki shi da rabeh. sarikin miso ya
aike wurin sarikin shira da wurin sarikin gombe su taru achikin garin
miso. su tashi su tareshi achikkin hanya. suna yi yaki dakeau ya kashe
masu mutane dayawa rabeh ya yi nasara dakeau. sarikin gombe ya mutu
achikin yaki. rabeh ya komo achikin barnuh, ya zamna watansa tara. ya
che ga mutaninsa ku yi shiri ku tafi achikin adamawa da yaki. su tafi su
yi yaki achikin adamawa su kama mutane dayawa su damresu achikin sasari
su kawosu daga barnuh. malam hayatu sarikin jamare ya ji labari ya che
masa domi ka tafi achikin kasan kakanina? rabeh ya amsa masa na tafi.
malam hayatu ya che, dakeau. ya aike masa da magani wurin matatasa
yariniya malam hayatu shika aureta. ama rabeh shekaransa tokwos da
hamsin ya mutu.
TRANSLATION
Rabeh’s origin. His father was a Jellaba man as also was Zobehr Pasha.
Rabeh’s father was a poor man and a clay digger (for making bricks); he
had no property. Rabeh went to Zobehr Pasha and became his lieutenant.
They went to Darfur and made war there for five years. They heard news
that the Egyptians and the English had come to Darfur. They (the
English) laid a cunning trap for him (Zobehr) and said, ‘Come to us.’
They caught Zobehr Pasha. His lieutenant Rabeh fled and came to the
Dinka country. He and his soldiers went and made war in the Dinka
country for three years. He got up and went to Wadai and made war in the
surrounding country for seventeen days. He went to Bagirmi and made war
with the King of Bagirmi for two years. Whilst he was in Bagirmi he sent
poison to Bornu and made powerful medicine because they were at strife.
They made war. He wrote a letter to Mallam Hayatu and said to him: ‘I
want to be your friend.’ Mallam Hayatu likewise said: ‘I like you, but
come and let us consult how we shall conquer Bornu.’ Rabeh said: ‘Very
well, let us meet on the road.’ He got up. They met and said: ‘Let us
enter Bornu and conquer it.’ The King of Bornu heard news that they were
assembling in large numbers and said (to his people): ‘Make careful
preparations.’ Rabeh came to Bornu and reached the gate of the town
[_i.e._ Kuka]. The King of Bornu came out and they fought. The King of
Bornu repulsed Rabeh, who went into the surrounding villages where he
sat down. He suffered from hunger for nine months in Ngellewa where they
remained concentrated. When they got provisions they re-entered Bornu
and made war. The King of Bornu’s soldiers fled and left him on the
battlefield and he was killed, first of all Abba Ashimi died, then Abba
Kiari and Abba Sanda, brother of Abba Kiari. He (Rabeh) entered Bornu
and sat down there for three years and a half. He went to the King of
Mandara and brought an army to Mandara. He caught the King of Mandara,
who was an old man, and brought him to Bornu. The son of the King of
Mandara caught a son of Rabeh’s. Rabeh said to his people, ‘Do not kill
him, he is an old man.’ The son of the King of Mandara said to him,
‘Send me my father.’ He said to him, ‘I am going to kill him.’ The old
man said: ‘If I die in the morning, you will die in the afternoon.’ He
let him go and he went to his country of Mandara.
The story of Rabeh continued. Pasha Malla Karim of Bornu sent to Rabeh
and said, ‘Come, enter the town of Bornu.’ He said: ‘I am hungry, I have
no food.’ They met, they entered the town, he became their king. He sat
down for four months. He got up and went to Bedde country. He made war
with them. God gave him the victory. He caught the Bedde people and
bound them in chains and brought them to Bornu. He came back, he went to
Mika[538] country. They made war with the King of Mika. God gave him the
victory. He killed them. He went to Katagum. There was a stiff fight.
The King of Katagum repulsed him. He fled and came back to his own
country of Bornu, where he sat down for five months. He got up and went
to Misau. The King of Misau came out and he and Rabeh fought. The King
of Misau sent to the King of Shira and to the King of Gombe (telling
them) to assemble inside the town of Misau. They got up and met on the
road. There was a stiff fight, but Rabeh killed many of their men and
gained a brilliant victory. The King of Gombe died in the battle. Rabeh
returned to Bornu, where he sat down nine months. He said to his people:
‘Prepare yourselves and go with an army to Adamawa.’ They went and made
war in Adamawa. They caught many men and bound them in chains and
brought them to Bornu. Mallam Hayatu, the King of Jamare, heard the news
and said to him: ‘Why have you entered the country of my fathers?’ Rabeh
answered him: ‘I have entered it. (What about it?)’ Mallam Hayatu said:
‘Good!’ He sent him poison through his wife. Rabeh had married Mallam
Hayatu’s daughter. Now Rabeh was fifty-eight years old when he died.
II
FROM A LETTER OF ABD-EL-KADIR IBN AL-HAJI ISA MUZI OF GHADAMES TO
MOHAMMED BESHIR, dated 17 Rejeb, 1315 (_i.e._ 12 December, 1897).[539]
. . . And if you inquire as to the state of affairs in the Sudan, know
that everything is in order. Only a letter has reached Ghadames from the
Sudan, in which they have informed us that Rabeh has of a truth been
killed by poison. The Sultan of Jamare said: ‘Assemble yourselves, ye
Sultans of the Sudan.’ They said: ‘Let us prepare ourselves and fight
against Rabeh.’ And the Sultan of Mandara and the Sultan of Bagirmi and
the Sultan of Kano and the Sultan of Katsena and the Sultan of Daura and
the Sultan of Kazaure and the Sultan of Zaria and the Sultan of Bauchi
and the Sultan of Bedde and the Sultan of Damerghu and the Sultan of
Tanamari and the Sultan of Gagiduna and the Sultan of Asben they all
assembled themselves (and said): ‘Let us march against Rabeh and kill
him.’ His father-in-law, Mallam Hayatu, was he who killed him by poison.
He sent the poison to his daughter with the message: ‘Give it thy
husband.’ After that[540] he said to his son-in-law: ‘Why have you taken
the land of my fathers?’ Rabeh answered and said unto him: ‘I have taken
it.’ Then he went away, prepared the poison and said to her: ‘Give it to
thy husband.’ And now Rabeh is dead. It is six months ago since I read
it in the letter from the Sudan.
[p. 263] FROM A LETTER OF HERR HANS RESENER, Editor of the _Aegyptischer
Kurier_, to the Editor of the _Mittheilungen_.
. . . Herr Julius Lippert in his article on Rabeh, the notorious ruler
of the Kingdoms of the Central Sudan, which is shortly to appear in your
valuable periodical, states: ‘his father was a poor brickmaker, who
gained an honest livelihood by the work of his hands. That Rabeh has
sometimes been falsely described as a slave of Zobehr’s is to be
attributed to the fact that he attached himself in early youth to that
extraordinary man, who prior to his appearance as a public official
carried on the business of slave-raiding. Rabeh early became a loyal
friend and useful assistant in Zobehr’s undertakings.’
I may be permitted to observe on the contrary that Zobehr Pasha has more
than once represented to me that his relationship to Rabeh was as
follows—Rabeh’s father was a slave of Zobehr’s father. The lot of a
slave in Africa who happens to be in good hands is by no means hard, he
eats out of the same dish as his master, &c., &c. Rabeh was brought up
in familiar intercourse with Zobehr without any distinction or
preference being made; the fact that Rabeh was a slave of Zobehr’s
father did not prevent this. At the same time Rabeh was Zobehr’s foster-
brother; Zobehr always had a great affection for him and when his
(Zobehr’s) father died, he gave Rabeh his freedom.
[Footnote 503: [Translation published by kind permission of Dr. Sachau,
Director of the Seminary. The name is spelt Rabah by the French and
Germans, Rabeh by the English. The latter form gives the Bornu
pronunciation, but perhaps the former is the correct Arabic form. The
town of Calatrava in Spain, the head-quarters of a famous order of
religious knights, is properly Kalat Rabah = Rabah’s citadel, vid.
article on Calatrava in _Encyclopaedia of Islam_.]]
[Footnote 504: This certainly holds good in general for Mohammedan
nations, in so much as with them the conception of the state is
identified with that of the ruler. Any one who requires proof of this,
let him read any twenty pages whatever of Aug. Müller’s _Islam_, vol.
ii; he will then be convinced.]
[Footnote 505: ‘dan’ in Hausa is the Arabic ‘ibn’ (son).]
[Footnote 506: Cf. G. A. Krause’s ‘Samori’, in No. 483 of the _Vossische
Zeitung_ for October 15, 1898.]
[Footnote 507: Vid. _Le Mouvement géographique_, 1898, No. 47 (Nov.
20).]
[Footnote 508: Cf. Nachtigal, _Sahara und Sudan_, ii. 234.]
[Footnote 509: They had to repent of not having followed Rabeh’s advice;
for in spite of the assurances made to them they were massacred in an
altogether assassin-like fashion on July 15, 1879, owing to calumny and
intrigue (cf. Slatin Pasha, _Fire and Sword in the Sudan_, p. 28, German
edition). [‘I caused Suleiman and nine of the principal rebel chiefs to
be shot, for Suleiman, after a futile attempt to make my troop revolt,
had tried to escape,’ vid. Romolo Gessi, _Seven Years in the Sudan_, p.
329.]]
[Footnote 510: Cf. Slatin Pasha, _idem_, pp. 7-28.]
[Footnote 511: [The Bornu troops had included gun-men since the
sixteenth century (vid. p. 17). The Kanuri word for gun is ‘be̥nde̥ge̥’,
which has usually been derived from Venediga = Venice, the original
source of supply. Huart, however, in the _Encyclopaedia of Islam_ under
‘bundukiya’ derives it from Latin ‘(nux) pontica’ = a hazel-nut, hence a
bullet. He gives ‘bunduki’ = a Venetian sequin, as coming from
‘Bundukiya, the Arabic name of Venice’.]]
[Footnote 512: Ferryman, _Imperial Africa_, London, 1898, p. 354.]
[Footnote 513: _Sahara und Sudan_, ii. 141.]
[Footnote 514: _Fire and Sword in the Sudan_, p. 25.]
[Footnote 515: _Imperial Africa_, p. 355.]
[Footnote 516: Cf. Nachtigal, _Sahara und Sudan_, iii. 51 ff.]
[Footnote 517: _Imperial Africa_, p. 356.]
[Footnote 518: The Hausa word Mallam (or Mallami) is, of course, the
Arabic ‘mumalim’ = teacher. It is employed like the Arabic ‘Imam’ (in
Moroccan Arabic ‘Faki’) for the ‘scribes’.]
[Footnote 519: Sultan is here used in the broader sense; the rulers of
the latest (or Kanem) dynasty in Bornu made use of the official title of
Sheikh. Their names in succession are: Mohammed Amin Al-Kanemi, Umar,
Abba Bubakr, Abba Ibrahim, Abba Ashimi, Abba Kiari, and Abba Sanda.
Their relationships are shown in the following table:
Mohammed Amin Al-Kanemi
|
|
Umar
|
+-------------------+---+----------------------+
| | |
Abba Bubakr Abba Ibrahim Abba Ashimi
|
+----+--------+
| |
Abba Kiari Abba Sanda
‘Abba’ corresponds in this connexion to the Arabic ‘Saïd’. Cf.
Nachtigal, _Sahara und Sudan_, i. 582. [Abba is a Bornu title meaning
‘Prince’.]]
[Footnote 520: According to Ferryman, _Imperial Africa_, p. 356, Abba
Ashimi was not killed, but after the loss of the battle fled to Zinder.
[As a matter of fact he was murdered by his nephew, Abba Kiari.—P. A.
B.]]
[Footnote 521: ‘Sanda’ is the Arabic ‘Umar’.]
[Footnote 522: According to my calculation the conquest of Bornu took
place in the year 1894.]
[Footnote 523: Cf. Grothe, _Tripoli and the Caravan-trade with the
Sudan_, Leipzig, 1898, p. 22.]
[Footnote 524: Ferryman, _Imperial Africa_, p. 356. [A Niger Company
mission under McIntosh (‘Sarikin Charlie’) visited Shehu Ashimi in 1890,
starting from Yola, but were unable to conclude the commercial
arrangements which formed their object.—P. A. B.]]
[Footnote 525: Cf. Nachtigal, _Sahara und Sudan_, i. 732 ff.]
[Footnote 526: Dikoa, which in earlier days was once a place of
residence of the Bornu kings, lies in the German sphere of influence.
With regard to the favourable situation of the town cf. Barth, _Travels
and Discoveries_, iii. 122 ff. German edition. The natives in their
superstitious fashion give as a ground for the change of residence that
the ghosts of the Sultans murdered there appeared to Rabeh by night in
the royal palace at Kukawa. This motive is not new; thus Mohammed
Sherif, Sultan of Wadai, removed his residence from Wara to Abesher,
because, as popular report had it, ‘bad ghosts had made the old royal
town uninhabitable’ (Nachtigal, _Sahara und Sudan_, iii. 77). Of course
this is not to be taken seriously. New ruling families are frequently
accustomed to select new places of residence in order to wipe out as far
as possible remembrances of the old dynasty, just as Kukawa itself was
first founded by the Kanem dynasty at the beginning of the nineteenth
century (Nachtigal, i. 586).]
[Footnote 527: [Fika?]]
[Footnote 528: Belonging for the greater part to the German sphere of
influence.]
[Footnote 529: Hayatu was the son of Saïdu, grandson of Sultan Mohammed
Bello, and consequently great-grandson of Othman dan Fodio, the founder
of the empire. (Wurno, formerly the residence of the Sultan of Sokoto,
is a town a few miles north of Sokoto.)]
[Footnote 530: Cf. Nachtigal, _Sahara und Sudan_, i. 730.]
[Footnote 531: [This is incorrect.—P. A. B.]]
[Footnote 532: Vid. Introduction to this article.]
[Footnote 533: Cf. Nachtigal, _Sahara und Sudan_, ii. 712 ff., iii.
281.]
[Footnote 534: _Idem_, ii. 726.]
[Footnote 535: This spelling is common and refers to the etymology of
Bornu = the land of Noah.]
[Footnote 536: Corruption of ‘azuhur’.]
[Footnote 537: Misprint in the original of t for i.]
[Footnote 538: [Fika?]]
[Footnote 539: This letter, written in the Tripolitan dialect, is
printed with all its errors. My conception of the meaning is set out in
the accompanying translation. [As I know no Arabic, I can only give a
translation of the German translation.—P. A. B.]]
[Footnote 540: The sequence is confused here.]
APPENDIX VI
THE BAUCHI ACCOUNT OF SHEHU LAMINO’S KANO CAMPAIGN[541]
Extract from a _History of the Bauchi Emirs_, translated from the
manuscript of Mallam Mustapha, tutor and adviser to the sons of Yakubu,
first Emir of Bauchi, by A. Holdsworth Groom, Assistant Resident,
Central (Bauchi) Province, Northern Nigeria.
After this he (Yakubu) made a war and went to Dass. He remained there
five years, and fought with them and conquered half of them. He was
fighting with the other half when the news of Kanumbu (Shehu Lamino of
Bornu) reached him, and he started and went to Fake. They met Kanumbu,
whose horsemen numbered 44,444. He had driven away the village chiefs of
Kano, the chiefs of Kano city, and the Emir of Kano, Dabo. All had fled.
Yakubu came and found him encamped. When Kanumbu saw him he said: ‘This
slave of the Fulani is a liar, what does he think he will take from off
me?’ Yakubu said to his mallams: ‘What is your advice? Ye behold the
multitude of his horses. Ye behold also the number of my horses, 2,500.
What say ye?’ They replied, ‘The king’s word is ours.’ Yakubu said, ‘I
know not how to defeat him, neither do I know how he may be killed, but
one thing I do know, I know that he has no power to raise the dead, that
he has no power, if rain be lacking, to cause it to fall, that he has no
power, if the grass does not spring up, to cause it to do so.’ The
followers of Yakubu said, ‘As for these things Allah alone is able to do
them.’ Yakubu replied, ‘Since ye know this, that no one is able to do
anything save Allah, let us take courage and fight with him, for we
shall defeat him and kill him, because no one is powerful save Allah.’
Then they joined battle and slaughtered them, and scattered them.[542]
Kanumbu fled, leaving behind him his flag, his tents and drums, and went
away to Bornu. Yakubu started and went to Sokoto’and brought to the
Sarikin Mussulmin, Bello, son of Shefu dan Fodio, Kanumbu’s flag, his
tents, and his drums. Bello rejoiced greatly and made a prayer for
Ibraihim, son of Yakubu, that Allah would give him the kingdom of his
father, that Allah would give the children of Ibraihim the kingdom of
Ibraihim;[543] that Allah would establish the seed of Ibraihim in the
house of Yakubu. Yakubu returned and came home.
[Footnote 541: Cf. _Documents scientifiques de la Mission Tilho_, vol.
ii, p. 363.]
[Footnote 542: The Habe Archers that followed Yakubu, famous for their
shooting and their poisoned arrows, are said to have contributed largely
to the victory.]
[Footnote 543: The present Emir of Bauchi is the grandson of Ibraihim.]
APPENDIX VII
REBELLION OF ABBA MASTA
Extract from ‘Travels of Haji Mahomet, a Fulani of Kano’, translated
from _Hausa Stories and Riddles_, by H. G. Harris, p. 33.[544]
We reached the King of Bornu. There was a civil war going on. One of the
Bornu princes was fighting with the King of Bornu, and trying to take
the kingdom from him. This prince, whose name was Abba Masta, had
100,000 men and 40,000 horses. The King of Bornu’s name was Shehu
Ibrahim, he had 100,000 soldiers and 100,000 slaves called ‘Kachellas’.
Abba Masta refused to obey him. The Shehu said: ‘Why do you refuse, you
are my younger brother? Is it a question of politics? If you want a
title, I will give it you.’ But his courtiers said: ‘No, don’t give it
him, consider your own interests. Is Abba Masta your elder brother, will
you obey him?’ But the Shehu would not listen to them, he was angry, he
rose up, shook out his clothes, went to his house, and beat his drum,
proclaiming, ‘He that is my friend, let him follow me’. . . . 40,000
horsemen left the town and the Shehu was preparing to follow them, when
his official sister, the Magira, came and caught hold of his gown,
saying: ‘Do not go out now, wait a while, let them go. Do you wish to
injure your own interests? When they have gone, we will follow on
behind.’ So the army went on, and the Shehu stayed two days at home.
Then he beat his drum, and said: ‘Let all my friends rally round me’.
They assembled, and followed him. He met Abba Masta, and sent four
‘mallams’ with a message to him saying, ‘Let us not quarrel over
politics, which are but transitory things, let us not fall out over
them.’ Abba Masta replied that he intended to fight, so the ‘mallams’
returned to the Shehu and said: ‘Abba Masta is evilly disposed; he
intends fighting.’ The Shehu sent back the ‘mallams’ with another
message, saying, ‘Let us not fight, let not Mussulman blood be shed.’
But Abba Masta continued to advance, and was close on their heels. The
alarm was given in the Shehu’s camp, and they opened fire. Thereupon, a
certain young man came to the Shehu and said: ‘I will kill him.’ The
young man took his spear and pierced Abba Masta through the ribs. Abba
Masta fell from his horse; he said to his followers, ‘Fly, the battle is
lost.’ Thirty thousand of his followers were slain, some fled to
Mandara, some were captured and brought to the Shehu, and the rest
scattered. People said, ‘Abba Masta has failed to seize the kingdom.’
The Shehu said, ‘Kill the prisoners.’ They were killed. There was a
pursuit. The defeated army fled screaming. The Shehu had the victory. He
returned home, assembled his people, and said, ‘Give judgement between
me and Abba Masta, which of us was in the wrong.’ They said, ‘He was in
the wrong. He refused to obey you, you tried to make peace, but he
refused. He behaved like a heathen.’ Then the Shehu beat his drum, and
ordered Abba Masta’s men to be brought before him. A court of justice
was held, and some were killed and some spared, in accordance with the
Shehu’s orders. Five thousand were executed, and the people said, ‘They
have met with their deserts.’
The following genealogical table explains the relationships of Abba
Masta:
Shehu Lamino
|
+----------------------+-----------------------------+
| | |
Shehu Umar Abba Masta Abba Senussi
| | |
| | |
Shehu Ibrahim Abba Bukar Abba Othman (late
| Ajia of Karaguaro)
|
Abba Wada (now
Ajia of Karaguaro)
[Footnote 544: Translation published by kind permission of Hermann G.
Harris, Esq.]
APPENDIX VIII
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN BRITISH BORNU
Thermometrical and barometrical observations have been taken in Bornu
for some years past by the Government Medical Officers; at Maiduguri in
Southern Bornu from 1905, and at Geidam in Northern Bornu from 1907. The
observations in all cases are taken at 9 a.m. in the shade of an open
grass-roofed shed, with maximum and minimum thermometers.
_Average monthly temperature, ascertained by taking the monthly averages
for the years recorded._
_Month._ _Geidam._ _Maiduguri._
° °
January 70·65 74·28
February 75·6 76·9
March 84·13 84·78
April 89·41 91·77
May 90·58 90·62
June 89·81 86·42
July 84·6 82·31
August 80·29 78·76
September 83·77 81·46
October 84·48 83·51
November 77·66 79·17
December 71·16 73·88
_Average yearly temperature._
_Year._ _Maiduguri._ _Geidam._
° °
1905 80·9 —
1906 82·14 —
1907 82·68 81·01
1908 83·02 81·35
1909 82·83 81·57
1910 78·56 82·23
The record maximum temperature of 120° was obtained at Maiduguri on
April 6, 1907; the record minimum temperature of 41° at Maiduguri on
March 30, 1910; the record fluctuation of 61° at Maiduguri on March 10,
1910.
The record maximum temperature at Geidam was 119° F. on March 28, 1911,
and the record minimum 44° F. on January 8, 1912; the record fluctuation
at Geidam was 51° F. on May 1, 1911, and January 24, 1912.
RAINFALL
_Year._ _Rainfall at _Rainfall
Maiduguri._ at Geidam._
_Inches._ _Inches._
1905 26·04 —
1906 31·65 20·80
1907 23·63 18·15
1908 23·30 22·39
1909 31·99 21·22
1910 19·53 16·78
1911 30·00 10·46
The record rainfall for 24 hours was 3·87″ at Maiduguri on August 27,
1911.
[I am indebted for these figures to the kindness of Drs. Ellis, McLeay,
Moiser, and Cobb of the West African Medical staff.—P. A. B.]
DIRECTION OF PREVAILING WIND
According to the observations taken at Maiduguri, which is just below
12° North latitude, the prevailing winds are as follows:
January, ENE.
February, NE.
March, E.
April, SW.
May, SW.
June, SW.
July, SW.
August, SW.
September, SW.
October, NE.
November, NE.
December, E.
APPENDIX IX
LAKE CHAD AND THE BAHR EL GHAZAL
The French Mission under Captain Tilho devoted a good deal of attention
to the problem of the Bahr el Ghazal. Their conclusions are summed up on
p. 61, vol. ii of the _Documents scientifiques_: ‘The Bahr el Ghazal, as
far as we examined it (i.e. to Fantrassou), is neither an affluent nor
an effluent but simply a prolongation of Chad. . . . This conclusion
does not solve the problem of the mythical river, which, according to
old maps, formerly connected Chad with the Nile.’[545] Twelve varieties
of shells are common to Chad and the Nile, and indicate that there must
at one time have been a connexion by water between the lake and the
river (_Doc. sc._, ii. 170); cf. also note [343] of the present work.
Again, on p. 601 ff., vol. ii: ‘Topography and hypsometry on the one
hand, chemistry, geology, and malacology on the other, agree in
declaring that Lake Chad is not the remains of an ancient sea, that it
is hardly a lake, in spite of its appearance of being an alluvial lake,
and that it should be regarded as the expansion of a powerful sheet of
fluvial water flowing north-eastwards, rather than a true lake. . . .
It appears legitimate, _a priori_, to suppose that this sheet of fluvial
water, after having expanded to form Chad, may continue its course
subterraneously, protected by a mantle of sand against the intense
evaporation occasioned by the burning sun of the tropics and the
parching winds of the desert. Besides, have we not in the Sahara many
other examples of water-courses prolonged subterraneously very far from
the place where they seem to lose themselves in the sands? . . .
Moreover, if topography and hypsometry can only show us the possibility
of the waters of Chad being prolonged subterraneously, chemistry
demonstrates the necessity. The amount of chloride in the waters of Chad
is in fact so small, that one is bound to admit that there is an outlet
somewhere. . . . Chemical analysis has shown that the water of Chad
almost everywhere contains less chloride than the drinking water of
Copenhagen for example. Consequently, it is absolutely impossible that
it can be a self-contained lake. . . .
It is impossible to definitely trace the course of the connecting link
between the Chad and the Nile, assuming that it existed, . . . until
French Borku and English Darfur are really brought under control.’
[Footnote 545: Cf. the article on the connexion between Lake Chad and
the Nile in the _Journal of the Royal Geographical Society_, vol.
xxxviii, p. 463. [Commandant Tilho is now in charge of the Mao district
to the north of Lake Chad and is making a special study of the problem
of the Bahr el Ghazal. Chudeau, _Missions au Sahara_, vol. ii, p. 232,
discusses the problem of the Bahr el Ghazal.]]
APPENDIX X
SOME KANURI DERIVATIONS (MOSTLY PROPER NAMES)
About half of these derivations were given me by the late Major A.
McClintock, D.S.O., Acting Resident, Bornu, with a request that I would
revise them. I have added a few notes in square brackets [ ] and some
derivations of other proper names, also in square brackets. Some of the
derivations are obviously ‘aetiological’, but others are, I think,
correct. Major McClintock heads his collection—‘Lies and Otherwise’.
P. A. B.
[=Afuno= (the Kanuri name for the Hausas). King Iderisa Aloma of Bornu
went to war with Kano and found all the people there wearing nothing but
arse-cloths (‘funo’). He therefore called them ‘am-funo’ = arse-cloth
people. Cf. Benton, _Kanuri Readings_, p. 19. For other derivations vid.
Merrick, _Hausa Proverbs_, p. 92.]
[=Allanjurori= = the place of Lowan Allanjuro.]
=Alo.= Mai Iderisa, a Bornu king, was at war in Bagirmi; during a fight
he was standing under a tree; up in the tree hidden by the branches was
one of the enemy, who threw his knife at the king and wounded him very
badly. The Bornu army returned by easy stages with their sick king via
Dikoa to the lake now known as Alo. Here the king died from his wounds
and was buried. After his death there was much lamentation, until the
king’s son said, ‘It is the work of Allah’ [‘Allah kido’ = God did it].
All the people then chanted the word Allah and the lake has since been
called Alo.
[Another explanation suggests that the word is derived from the Tubu
‘alo’, meaning a water-melon. When Mai Iderisa died, the melons with
which the place was covered burst asunder from grief and formed a lake.]
[=Ardimini.= A town in Margawa District. This word means in the Koiyam
language the same as the Kanuri ‘arditsani’ (3rd pers. plur. negative
indefinite from ‘ardingin’) = they do not agree. The Koiyams are a
pastoral people who do not care to settle down.]
=Argum= = millet. Birds were responsible for carrying this seed and
dropping it in Kanem, at Birnin N’gebe, where the Bornu kings lived
prior to their coming to Gashergomo. The seed these birds brought was
taken to the king, who ordered horsemen to follow their flight and find
out where it grew. It was found in the Gongola valley, and they brought
some back to the king, who had it prepared and ate it. He then said,
‘Hold this safe and plant it.’
The word ‘argum’ or ‘arkum’ is a corruption of the Kanuri ‘arre ke̥mne’ =
come, hold it fast. [‘Arre’ is imperative from ‘iseskin’, and ‘ke̥mne’ or
‘kumne’ is imperative from ‘ke̥mgin’ = I close the fist.]
[=Arriaskuri.= Name of a village opposite the Government station at
Maiduguri, said to have been founded by one Arri Yasku-ma, i.e. Arri
from Yasku, a town near Lake Alo now abandoned.]
[=Bonigaral.= This was a slave village exempted from tax: its
inhabitants could therefore take their ease. ‘Bone’ is 2nd pers. sing.
imperative from ‘bongin’ = I lie down; ‘ngaral’ is an emphatic adverbial
suffix, cf. Koelle, _Kanuri Grammar_, p. 283.]
[=Bornu.= Or, as the natives write and pronounce it, Barnu. The usual
etymology given by the natives is that it is a corruption of the Arabic
‘Bahr Nuh’ = the water of Noah, because the ark was supposed to have
rested on the rocks of Hadjer Hamis on the south bank of Chad.[546]
Another is that it is derived from Kanuri ‘burum nui’ = the lake is
dead, has disappeared, pointing to a shrinkage of Lake Chad; cf.
Appendix XIV A.]
[=Borsari= = the place of Kachella Mbursa, grandfather of Kachella
Mahmut, ex-Ajia of this district.]
=Bussugua= = the fig-trees [parasitic _ficus_]. There is one in Ngubala
rest-camp. [This is where the Major died, June 24, 1912:
Νιγηρία γὰρ οὔποτ’ οὐδέν’ ἄνδῥ ἑκὼν
αἱρεῖ πονηρόν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς χρηστοὺς ἀεί.
P. A. B. and H. B. H.-H. with apologies to Sophocles’ _Philoctetes_,
line 436.]
[=Damasak.= Short for ‘mbarena damasak’ = we are tired, worn out.
‘Mbarena’ is 1st pers. plur. present participle of ‘mbareskin’;
‘damasak’ is an intensive adverbial suffix, said to be only used with
the verb ‘mbareskin’ and only with the 1st pers. plur. of that verb. The
town of Damasak was founded by pilgrims returning from Mecca.]
[=Debira.= For ‘dabbi-ri’ = the place of the long-handled hoe. It is a
blacksmith’s village.]
=Dikoa= (vid. =Alo=). When Mai Iderisa was returning to Birnin Gashermo
via Dikwa he left some of his people there. The ruling potentate, an
ally of Bornu, said, ‘Yes, you can stay here, but I mark a boundary for
you.’ He then marked out the site of the present town of Dikwa, which in
the Magari [or Mackeri] language means ‘a marked out place, a boundary’.
[Another suggested explanation connects it with the Kanuri word ‘digo-
wa’ = grandsons.]
=Galadima=, from ‘galti’, meaning to finish his job properly, i.e. if in
war a man was told to capture a village and did so properly the verb
‘galti’ applies.
Hence Galadima, the man who does things properly, who can be trusted to
carry out affairs.
[For another derivation vid. Benton, _Kanuri Readings_, p. 25.]
[=Gazerregomo= (Kasr Kumo). Vid. note in Appendix III, p. 248.]
[=Geidam.= A certain man came and sat down by the river. People asked
him, ‘Why do you sit down here all alone?’ He replied, ‘Ngai-dam
namgin,’ literally, ‘thus exactly I am going to sit down.’ ‘Dam’ appears
to be a semi-enclitic specific adverb of the kind described by Koelle,
_Kanuri Grammar_, p. 283. An American might translate it ‘right here’.]
=Grema.= From Kanuri [root ‘gere’] = to eat. The story is that one of
the old kings of Bornu insisted when riding about the country on tasting
all wild fruits and everything that could be eaten. He had one ‘boy’,
who was particularly good at bringing him these things. This boy died,
the king felt his loss, he therefore appointed a man who was to do this
work. Hence the name ‘Grema’.
[=Gujiba.= A certain king’s son went and sat down on this site. The king
summoned him but he refused to come. The king said, ‘Nguji-ba?’ = has he
rebelled?
‘Guji’ or ‘nguji’ is an impersonal verb meaning he rebels, he is
obstinate; ‘-ba’ is the interrogative particle.]
[=Gusamalla.= At the time of the capture of Gazerregomo by the Fulani, a
‘mairam’ (princess) came and sat down where Gusamalla now is. Fugitives
(‘nguzama’ from ‘nguzaniskin’) joined her and formed a town. The ‘-la’
is for the postpositive ‘-lan’, which is here to be translated as a
genitive, cf. Koelle, _Kanuri Grammar_, p. 300. The name therefore means
‘(the town) of the fugitives’.]
=Hausa=, from the Hausa word ‘haushi’: change the _h_ to _f_ you get
‘fushi’, which means to be angry; vid. Robinson’s _Dictionary_, p. 88,
‘He feels angry’ = ‘yana yin haushi’.
The story is that on the first invasion of this country by the Hausas
they met with opposition they did not expect, and were naturally angry
about it. They said, ‘These people (original inhabitants) make me angry’
= ‘Ba-Fushi’. _F_ comes roughly off the tongue, _H_ is the accepted
difference. ‘Haushi,’ between the _f_ and the _u_ a vowel must come or
no black man could say the word.
I now say further that the much disputed derivation of this word Hausa
is now solved for any one who knows anything about the matter. [!]
[The Major was always very hot on this being the correct derivation. For
other explanations of Hausa vid. Merrick, _Hausa Proverbs_, pp. 91-3,
and Robinson’s _Hausa Dictionary_, second edition, p. 88 a, and
Tremearne, _Niger and West Sudan_, pp. 51-64.]
[=Kaba.= A Marghi town, said to have been founded by a brother of the
Marghi king, Mai Ibrahim, who broke away from him and founded a town of
his own. ‘Ka-ba’ = no stick, i.e. without proper authority.]
=Kachella=, from Katsaga = a spear [and ‘-la’ or ‘-lan’ = on. ‘Kachella’
is a military title, they are those who sleep on their spears.]
=Kagaburi=, the name of the country between Mobber and Geidam, i.e.
between Dutchi and Geidam. ‘The country of the fools’. ‘Kagabu’ in
Kanuri meaning a fool.
[=Kaiuri=, the place of the ‘Kayo’ (Hausa, ‘tumfafia’ = _Asclepias
gigantea_).]
[=Kanembu=, the people of Kanem, ‘-bu’ being the plural form of the
adjective in Kanuri; cf. Koelle, _Kanuri Grammar_, p. 34.[547]]
[=Kano.= The Sau who marked out Kano said to the people, ‘Is it enough
for you?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ ‘Well then,’ said he, ‘pass along (“Konogo”)
and enter in.’ Cf. Benton, _Kanuri Readings_, p. 26.]
=Kanuri=, made from the old Sau, now Beri-Beri [Kanuri] words, ‘Kam’ = a
man, ‘nur’ = light-coloured, ‘-ri’ = place of or possession of. This was
the name given by the Saus to the first arrivals from the North, meaning
literally, ‘the light-coloured men.’ These men, the first Mohammedans in
Bornu, were called Beri-Beri owing to their long sojourn in Berber
before crossing the desert to the fertile Chad and its neighbouring
rivers. The language of these people was the language of Berber and
Arabia. On obtaining possession and settling down to Islamize the
country, they adopted the language of the Saus, the now more or less
Kanuri language.
[Another derivation connects Kanuri with Kanem, the country via which
the Kanuri entered Bornu. Neither derivation explains why a tribal name
has the place termination ‘-ri’ in it. I do not know what authority the
Major had for saying that ‘-ri’[547] could imply ‘possession of’.[547]]
[=Karaguaro.= This district is ‘bush’. ‘Karaga’ = bush, ‘Karaga-wa’ =
belonging to bush, ‘Karaga-wa-ro’ = to the bush (place).]
=Karda=, people living in small hamlets outside proper Kanuri villages,
so called from the Kanuri word ‘Karta’ [‘Karngin’] = to separate. They
were originally goat and sheep-herds, and therefore of necessity lived
in the ‘bush’.
=Konduga.= There is close to Konduga a village named Salalari. In this
village lived a hunter and his son. The son, knowing that the marsh
close to our present Konduga was a good place for game, told his father
that he wanted to go and live there and hunt. At this the father was
angry and told the boy, ‘If you do, you don’t come back.’ That is the
meaning of the name. ‘Kondi’ or ‘Qwondi’ in Kanuri meaning ‘to sit
apart’ or ‘sit down by yourself or on your own’.
[Konduga or Kondega is short for ‘ke̥la-ne̥m kong dega’, literally, ‘by
yourself abide.’ ‘Kong’ is an emphatic suffix or specific adverb; cf.
Koelle, _Kanuri Grammar_, p. 283; ‘dega’ is imperative from ‘degaskin’ =
to enter in, to abide.]
[=Kwalme Shuwas.= Vid. Appendix XIV.]
[=Lagarete.= Lagari are a Koiyam tribe, ‘-te’ is the demonstrative
pronoun used as a definite article; vid. Koelle, _Kanuri Grammar_, p.
185.]
[=Luskuri.= ‘Lasku’ or ‘lusku’ means in Kanuri the hole made by a ‘bush-
cat’ or fox; ‘-ri’ = the place of.]
=Magumeri.= ‘Magume’ is the old tribal Kanuri mark, that is, the two
long marks down the arm and leg supposed to be made by a sword; two is
for princes, &c., three marks any Kanuri. ‘-ri’ = place of. Therefore,
Magumeri means the place of the Kanuri princes or chiefs—or a properly
bred old stock Kanuri.
[Magumi is the name of one of the chief Kanuri clans.]
=Maiduguri.= ‘Mai’ = a king, ‘dugu’ a corruption of ‘dugo’, which means
‘presently’. Maidugu means the son of a [‘maina’] prince or the grandson
of a king (really ‘presently a king’). ‘-ri’ = the place of. Hence
Maiduguri means ‘the dwelling place of a king’s grandson’.
[Cf. ‘madugu’ in Hausa = headman of a caravan. The place is frequently
misspelt Maidugari, because people think it has something to do with the
Hausa word ‘gari’ = a town.]
=Maifoni.= ‘Mai’ = a king, ‘foni’ [or ‘funi’] = a turban. A slave of a
Bornu king introduced this place to his master’s notice on account of
its running water and pleasant site. The king rewarded the slave by
giving him a turban, which is a sign of office; hence the name.
[There is an ancient connexion between Maifoni and the kings of Marghi.
According to one account the Marghi town of Kaba (_q.v._) was originally
also called Maifoni, a corruption of Mafundi, which means ‘a tall, stout
man, a man in his prime’, because it was founded by a powerful man, who
broke away from the authority of the Marghi king, Mai Ibrahim. A later
Marghi king, Mai Jalo, complained to Shehu Lamino, that in paying his
annual visit of homage to Kukawa, he found the journey a fatiguing one,
as it was all ‘bush’ between Kaba and the centre of Uje. Lamino
therefore gave him permission to select a site as a ‘rest-camp’, and he
chose Maifoni (now Maiduguri station) as his half-way house. The
following is a list of the Marghi kings of Maifoni.
_Connexion between Maifoni and Marghi._
The founder of Maifoni was a man called Mele Gumsumi, and his title was
Kaloma. He left Birni and sat down at Kasachiya (near Kaba) to farm. He
was succeeded by Kaloma Umar Kumaisimi, he by Mai Isa Mairemmi. Mai Isa
reigned for forty years.
He was succeeded by Mai Momodu Mairemmi.
„ „ Mai Duguribe Gumsumi (he belonged to the ruling
family of Birni).
„ „ Zuri Gumsumi.
„ „ Mai Nassar.
„ „ Mele Nassarmi.
„ „ Usuman Kumaisimi.
„ „ Usuman Gumtimi (he went and made war with the Sau
town of Almis).
„ „ Mai Mele Hawami.
„ „ Mai Momodu Panami.
„ „ Mai Jalo Bawomi.
„ „ Mai Tahir.
„ „ Mai Jalo Aisami.
„ „ Mai Momodu Maungusuma.
„ „ Mai Dalla.
„ „ Mai Momodu Kowas.
„ „ Mai Mallam Gorumba.
„ „ Mai Zogoma.
„ „ Mai Mele Balumi.
„ „ Mai Sunoma.
„ „ Mai Momodu Kabumi (son of Sunoma).
„ „ Mai Budum.
„ „ Mai Ibram (contemporary of Shehu Lamino).
„ „ Mai Jalo.
„ „ Mai Momodu Gajimi.
„ „ Mai Arri.
„ „ Mai Mele.
„ „ Mai Momodu Biyemi.
„ „ Mai Dogum.
„ „ Mai Yagudima.
„ „ Mai Mele.
„ „ Mai Arri (now Lowan of Kaba in West Marghi, Kaba
and Maifoni having been separated under the
British administration).]
[=Margawa=, the ‘marga’ trees. The pounded wood of this tree is boiled
and used to sweeten certain native dishes.]
[=Marte=, said to be a Sau word meaning a blanket or thick cloth.]
=Masagua= or =Masakwa=, the dry-season corn. The first of this grain was
found in elephants’ droppings. The King of Kasa (now in German
territory) was the first man who noticed this grain in elephant-
droppings. He picked it out and planted it. When he watered it, it grew
freely and was the beginning of the seed afterwards sown widely in
waterlogged ground, and bearing a grain similar to guinea-corn. The idea
is that the elephant ate guinea-corn at some distant place and brought
it as described to Chad shore. ‘Musu’ in Kanuri is anything rotten [from
‘me̥se̥ngin’]. ‘Musukwa’ = something that comes from a rotten thing.
[=Masu.= A certain man came and sat down here and said, ‘If they want
me, let them seek me’ (‘matsa’, 3rd pers. plural, 2nd indefinite, from
‘mangin’).]
=Mbarma= or =Mbaruma=, the man in a village who collects from the
villagers any money due by them. ‘Mbaro’ meaning in Kanuri ‘to pay rent,
to pay on behalf of ——’.
[‘Barungin’ = to redeem from slavery, to pay ‘pansa’, so ‘mbaru-ma’ is
the man who is responsible for some one else. ‘Mbarma’ is a small
village or hamlet headman, as opposed to ‘bullama’ or ‘be̥la-ma’, headman
of a large village.]
[=Mongonu.= The King of Bornu, at that time settled at Kabela, sent his
brother to sit down on this site. When the people saw that the country
was fertile, they said, ‘Mai (shiga) ngurno gono’ = the king has shown
him kindness. This became corrupted into Mongonu or Maungono.]
[=Ngomati.= Nguma is the name of a Kanuri tribe, ‘-ti’ is the
demonstrative pronoun used as a definite article; vid. Koelle, _Kanuri
Grammar_, p. 185.]
=Ngunse= [Nganzei], which in Kanuri means ‘to milk’. This used to be a
rich district and a source of wealth to the fiefholders, who made the
most of it and milked it of its wealth.
[‘Ngangin’ = to milk; ‘nganzei’, 3rd pers. plural, 1st indefinite or
perfect. The district is very rich in cattle.]
[=Nguru.= Some hunters killed an hippopotamus (‘ngurutu’) and made
bracelets out of the skin. Such bracelets are called ‘nguru’.]
=Shetima=, from the word ‘sheida’ = a witness. ‘Shetima’ means ‘the
tried man, the proved man’.
=Shuwa.= The word ‘ashe’ in Kanembu and Kanuri means ‘the strong-headed
man, wilful or disobedient man’ [‘ashi’ = obstinacy], ‘-wa’ = the people
of. Hence the word ‘ashiwa’, now ‘Shuwa’.
They are originally supposed to have been so perverse that they would
not follow the Prophet, thence they became a wandering tribe. [Cf. p.
328.]
[=Uje=, said to be a corruption of the Shuwa-Arabic word ‘waje̥hu’ = a
face. Koelle, in the _Polyglotta Africana_, gives the form ‘wush’ =
face, in the Arabic dialect of Beran. The district known as Uje occupies
a central position in Bornu, and was therefore called the ‘face’ of the
country.]
[=Yajua.= A Fulani ‘ardo’ called Yaji settled at this spot. The Kanuri,
therefore, called it ‘be̥la Yaji-wa’ = Yaji’s town, ‘-wa’ being the
adjectival termination.]
=Yarima=, from ‘ya’ = mother, ‘yari’ = the mother’s place, ‘yarima’ = he
who is in the mother’s house. Hence in a king’s family the son who takes
charge of the mother’s compound is called the Yarima. This title seems
to go from father to son, not through sons of the ruling house. Thus now
in Bornu, Yarima Kassim [ex-Ajia of Mufio] has the appointment, Bukar
Yarimami [now Ajia of Gusamalla-Ngunse] refusing it on his father’s
death; both these men are descendants of old Bornu ‘Yarimas’.
[=Yedseram=, or =Yadseram.= The river forming the Anglo-German boundary.
A small girl called Yachua was bathing in it and was drowned. The people
said, ‘Komadugu Yachua tshetshina’ = the river has killed Yachua, so the
river was named ‘Yachua tshetshina-ram’ = the river which killed Yachua
(‘-ram’ is an adjectival suffix); this became corrupted into Yadseram.
Another suggested derivation connects it with the village of Yadza near
Issege.]
[Footnote 546: Said to mean in Arabic, ‘the rock without a rival, the
solitary rock.’ There is a photo in Macleod, _Chiefs and Cities_, p.
206. _Doc. sc. de la Mission Tilho_, vol. ii, p. 355, quoting Nachtigal,
speaks of a rock known as Hadjer Teous on the left bank of Chad, and a
rock of this name is shown in Nachtigal’s map (reproduced on p. 14, vol.
i of Tilho) on the south of Chad. Possibly Hadjer Hamis is sometimes
called Hadjer Teous, but according to my information Hadjer Teous means
‘the he-goat rock’, and is situated north of Chad between Kanem and
Wara. I am inclined to think, however, that they are the same. In the
first edition of Denham there is a plate facing p. 261 of ‘Hager Teous
called by the Natives the Foot Stool of Noah’. It is not shown on the
map, but from the letterpress must have been on the south or south-east
of the Lake; cf. also Chevalier, _Mission Chari-Lac Tchad_, p. 410, and
p. 45 of the present work.]
[Footnote 547: Cf. Appendix XIV A, p. 335.]
APPENDIX XI
FESTIVALS IN BORNU
---------------+---------------+---------------+----------------------
_Date._ | _Kanuri Name._| _Arabic Name._| _Notes._
---------------+---------------+---------------+----------------------
10th Moharrem | Ngumori Tsuro-| Ashura |Day of creation of
| mbulo-be | |Adam and Eve, and of
| | |the first fall of
| | |rain. Every one in
| | |Bornu kills a fowl.
| | |‘The feast of the
| | |belly-filling.’ In
| | |Kanuri ‘tsuro’ =
| | |belly, and
| | |‘yimbuluskin’ = I
| | |fill. The day is
| | |sacred to Shiah
| | |Moslems as the
| | |anniversary of the
| | |death of the martyr
| | |Hussein. According to
| | |Michell, _An Egyptian
| | |Calendar_, p. 74, a
| | |particular dish called
| | |‘ashura’ is made on
| | |this day.[548]
| | |
Last Wednesday|Moddua Laraban-| Arbaa Mayidur |Said to be the day of
in Safar | ganí-be | |the last bath of the
| | |prophet. He died
| | |fourteen days after
| | |it. On this day prayer
| | |is offered for
| | |averting trouble
| | |during the year.
| | |
| | |The Kanuri name means
| | |literally ‘The telling
| | |of beads of Wednesday-
| | |not’, i.e. no more
| | |Wednesdays, the last
| | |Wednesday of the
| | |month.
| | |
12th Rabi-el- | Ngumori Lebbi | Mulid en-Nebi |Birthday of Mohamet.
owwal | Lowal-be | |This is the chief
| | |festival in Bornu.
| | |
15th Shaaban |Ngumori Nussufu| Leylet en-Nusf|On this night Allah
| Shaaban-be | min Shaaban |registers the good and
| | (called in |evil deeds of mankind.
| | India ‘Shab i |The Kanuri name means
| | Barat’) |literally ‘the
| | |festival of half
| | |Shaaban’, i.e. the
| | |Mid-Shaaban festival.
| | |
1st Showwal | Ngumori Asham-| Id el-Fitr, |First day after the
| be | Turkish |Ramadan fast. This is
| | ‘Ramazan |the chief festival
| | Bairam’ |among the Hausas. In
| | |Kanuri ‘asham’ = fast.
| | |
10th Zu’l |Ngumori Laya-be| Id el-Kebir, |Ram festival.
Heggeh | |Turkish ‘Kurban|Commemorates Abraham’s
| | Bairam’ |attempted sacrifice of
| | |Ishmael (not of Isaac
| | |as according to the
| | |Old Testament).
---------------+---------------+---------------+----------------------
[Footnote 548: It consists of wheat boiled and sweetened with dates,
nuts, and other dried fruits. Presents of this dish, sometimes with
small gold coins sprinkled upon it, are sent to friends and relatives
from the harems of the wealthy. The common name for it is ‘hobub’. This
dish, or one similar to it, was prepared at the Persian New Year. It
probably celebrated the coming in of the harvest. All the old fruits,
&c., that had been kept during the winter were made use of for the dish,
and the season of fresh fruits was thus inaugurated.]
APPENDIX XII
THE CALENDAR
The names of the Arabic months, as given in Michell’s _An Egyptian
Calendar_, and as transliterated from Kanuri mallams, differ somewhat.
_Michell._ _Kanuri._
1. Moharrem. Muharam.
2. Safar. Shafur.
3. Rabia el-owwal. Rabi-il-lawal.
4. Rabia et-tani. Rabi-il-lahir
or
Rabi-it-tsani.
5. Gumad el-owwal. Jimad-al-lawal.
6. Gumad et-tani. Jimad-al-lahir
or
Jimad-at-tsani.
7. Regeb. Rajab.
8. Shaaban. Shaaban.
9. Ramadan. Ramadan.
10. Showwal. Shawal.
11. Zu’l-kaadeh. Zulgada.
12. Zu’l-heggeh. Zulhaji.
With regard to the year, the Liman says that A.D. 1912 is A.H. 1329 with
a few days of 1330. Other mallams say that it is A.H. 1330 with a few
days of 1331, and this reckoning agrees with Michell and with the _Sudan
Almanac_ published by the Egyptian Government. This discrepancy is
explained by the following extract from Major Burdon’s notes on Sokoto
in _Historical Notes on Certain Emirates and Tribes_, p. 61:
‘An extraordinary point in the reckoning of these Nigerian Mohammedans
is that, while right in the day of the week, they are almost invariably
wrong by a year and a day in the remaining part of any date. . . . The
explanation given is that neither the year nor the day is counted until
each is completed. It is a perfectly intelligible system, but the
logical sequence to it would appear to be its application also to the
days of the week.’
The names of the English months are transliterated as follows:
Yunair.
Fabrair.
Maris.
Ibril.
Mayu.
Yunihi.
Yulihi.
Awgustus.
Sabtumbir.
Aktumbir.
Nufambir.
Duyusambir.
To convert approximately a date of the Hejira to that of the Christian
era, add to the former 622 and subtract from the sum three years for
every century of the Mohammedan date; e.g. to convert A.H. 1318 to A.D.,
1318 + 622 = 1940: − (13 × 3) = 1901 (and part of 1900). And inversely,
A.D. 1900 = 1900 − 622 = 1278: + 39 = 1317 A.H. (and part of 1318).
MEANING OF THE NAMES OF THE ARABIC MONTHS (from Michell).
1. _Moharrem_ = the Forbidden, called Moharrem el-haram (the sacred).
One of the four months of truce, in which all acts of hostility were
strictly forbidden among the Arab tribes. It is considered unlucky to
make a marriage contract in Moharrem.
In Bornu ‘Moharrem’ villages were those which were forbidden to be
taxed, i.e. excused from the general tax. They were squeezed by a Court
favourite instead.
2. _Safar_, derivation, according to Fresnel quoted by Lane, from
_Sifar_ = empty, either because their granaries being empty, the Arabs
used to travel to procure grain; or because they went on predatory
expeditions, leaving their homes empty; or because they left Mecca
empty. The fairs in Yemen used to be called Safarieh (vid. Masudi and
Lane’s _Arabic Dictionary_). This month is called Safar el-Muzaffer (the
auspicious); and also sometimes Nezlet el-Hagg (the descent or alighting
of the pilgrims), because the Mecca pilgrims begin to return to Egypt
towards the end of Safar.
(Mallam Zakaria of Maiduguri derives it from an Arabic word ‘safar’, I
travel, because it is the travelling month; cf. Swahili ‘safari’ = a
hunting expedition?)
3. _Rabia el-owwal_ = the first Rabia. ‘Rabi’ expresses verdure and
spring rains.
4. _Rabia et-tani_ or _el-akher_ = the second or last Rabia.
5. _Gumad el-owwal_ = the first Gumad. Generally derived from ‘Gamada’,
dryness or hardness, as applied to the earth after the cessation of the
rains of the preceding spring months (cf. Kanuri ‘ngamdu’ = dry, lean).
6. _Gumad et-tani_ or _el-akher_ = the second or last Gumad.
7. _Regeb_, one of the four months of truce. The Prophet commended
prayer and fasting in this month.
8. _Shaaban_, probably so called because the Arabs were wont, after the
peace of Rejeb, to separate (‘Shaab’) on marauding expeditions, and also
to seek water, this month originally falling in the great heat of June
and July (vid. Lane’s _Dictionary_).
9. _Ramadan_ = intense heat. The fasting month. The eve of Ramadan is
called ‘Leylet er-Ruyeh’, the night of observation, because men are
appointed to watch for the new moon, and then give evidence at the Court
of the Kadi.
10. _Showwal_, so called, not as Lane tells us (_Arab. Dict._), because
it is the breeding season of camels (from ‘showwal’, to raise the tail),
but the season when the she-camels, being seven or eight months gone
with young, raise their tails (camels generally couple in the winter).
Or, possibly, the word refers to a deficiency of the camel’s milk in the
season of great heat.
11. _Zu’l-kaadeh_ = the possessor or holder of truce or abstention. One
of the four months of truce. Lane explains it as the month in which the
Arabs broke in their young camels (‘el-kaadat’) for riding.
12. _Zu’l-heggeh._ The month of pilgrimage. One of the four months of
truce.
APPENDIX XIII
LIST OF BORNU TRIBES
(1) Babur, (2) Bedde, (3) Burra, (4) Chibuk, practically Marghi, (5)
Fika, including Bolawa (M.) and Gamawa (P.), (6) Filani, (7) Gamergu
(P.), (8) Kanembu, (9) Kanuri, (10) Kerikeri, (11) Kwoyam, (12) Manga,
(13) Marghi, (14) Mobber, (15) Ngizim, (16) Ngussur, semi-pagan (Gujba),
(17) Shuwa, (18) Tera, (19) Kanawa, spread over all three divisions
(practically none—but Filani), (20) Shira, sub. to Fika (semi-pagan).
Clans or tribes comprised in Kanuri: Kanembu, Mobber, Manga, Koyam,
Karda, Kagama, Ngussur, Magumi (the original Kanuri), and several minor
clans, the Lere, &c.
Filani clans: Kitije (P.), Jafun (Kanawa?). Abore: Sankara, Girije,
Daiyi, Daneji, Warumonde, Bikerke, Bagaji, Mamaji, Bijingel, Uda.
In Tera: Hinna, Maga, some Tangali, and Nimaltu (south of Wuyo and
Bima).
APPENDIX XIV
ETHNOLOGICAL NOTES ON BORNU PROPER
There are eight chief races in Bornu Proper:
(_a_) Kanuri, (_b_) Kanembu, (_c_) Shuwa, (_d_) Fulani, (_e_) Koyam,
(_f_) Manga, (_g_) Gamerghu, (_h_) Mobber.
(_a_) The Kanuri or Beriberi are supposed to be a mixed race of Arab
tribes and Hamitic Kanembu and Tubu, which, gradually losing more and
more the physical and mental peculiarities of the dwellers in the
desert, became merged in the negro population of the conquered country,
the half-mythical ‘So’, a giant race, whose descendants are supposed to
be represented at the present day by the Beddes, Buddumas, Kotokos, &c.
One of the chief Kanuri clans is the Magumi, to whom belongs Maina
Gumsumi, now Ajia of Kaiuri district, the representative of the old
‘Mais’ of Bornu.
(_b_) The Kanembu, i.e. the inhabitants of Kanem, are an Hamitic race,
whose relationship to the Kanuri may be roughly described as similar to
that between the Lowland Scots and the English. Their chief clans are
the Sugurti and the Kubri (the Shehu’s clan).
(_c_) According to Schultze, quoting Barth, ii. 355, the Shuwa Arabs
immigrated into Bornu at various times, firstly, with the conquerors of
the country from the north, and secondly, at a much later epoch, about
300 years ago, from Nubia or Kordofan.[549] They are broken up into a
great number of tribes, of which the Beni Hassan has remained the
purest, but they have lost many of the bodily and mental peculiarities
of the Semitic race, doubtless as a result of their long wanderings, and
also of the intermixture which has taken place with other peoples. Their
language, however, they have retained in wonderful purity.
There is a vocabulary of Shuwa Arabic in Koelle’s _Polyglotta Africana_,
and some notes on the language appeared in Decorse and Demombyne’s
_Rabah et les Arabes du Chari_. A book on Arabic spoken in Wadai and to
the east of Chad by H. Carbou has recently been published, vid. List of
Authorities.
From the best information available in British Bornu the Shuwas may be
divided into two classes, (A) those who entered Bornu before Lamino’s
time, (B) those who entered with or shortly after Lamino.
To (A) belong (1) the Joama, originally settled north of Mongonu, but
migrated to Karaguaro and Magumeri after the Fulani invasion; (2) the
Maiyin or Meyin, originally settled at Marguba; (3) the Saraje,
originally settled in Uje district. All these three tribes entered Bornu
about 300 years ago, ten or twenty years before Birni Gazerregomo was
built. They came from Darfur. There were no Shuwas in Bornu prior to
this. This statement differs slightly from Schultze. None of these
tribes are now numerically important.
To (B) belong (1) the large and wealthy tribe of the Kwalme Shuwas, (2)
the Kurata, (3) the Beni Hassan, mostly in Mandara and Musgu, of very
pure descent.
The Kwalme are divided into many clans, of which the following may be
enumerated:[550]
(1) Wulad Sarar.
(2) Wulad Salim.
(3) Wulad Himet.
(4) Wulad Kanem.
(5) Beni Badder.
(6) Dagana.
(7) Beni Muharab.
(8) Asali (to whom belonged Lowan Adam, murdered in 1906).
(9) Salamat (murderers of Lowan Adam).
(10) Wulad Amir.
(11) Beni Wail.
(12) Ajeni.
(13) Wulad Hodir.
(14) Wulad Abu Isa.
N.B.—‘Wulad’ in Shuwa means sons, ‘beni’, daughters. The derivation of
‘Kwalme’ is variously given, but its real origin is probably unknown.
Some connect it with ‘kworram’ = amber (Kanuri) and ‘mi’ = son of, from
the fondness of the Shuwa women for amber ornaments. Others derive it
from a Shuwa word ‘galib’ = it is too difficult, they are too difficult
for me (Kanuri ‘tegeri’, Hausa ‘gargare’); ‘galib’ became corrupted into
‘galim’, and by transposition to ‘galmi’. This term is said to have been
applied to the Shuwas on account of their obstinate character by the
Arabic-speaking peoples east of Chad. Some support is lent to this
derivation by that given for the word ‘Shuwa’. The word ‘ashe’ in
Kanembu and Kanuri means ‘the strong-headed man, wilful or disobedient
man’ [‘ashi’ = obstinacy, ‘-wa’ = the people of]. Hence the word
‘Ashiwa’ now ‘Shuwa’. They are originally supposed to have been so
perverse that they would not follow the Prophet, thence they became a
wandering tribe [cf. p. 318].
(_d_) The Fulani or Fellata of Bornu belong chiefly to three clans, the
Abore Fellata (Hausa, ‘Borroro’), the Mare Fellata (the term ‘Mare’ is
said to be a Fulani word for a tree resembling the ‘dorowa’ or locust-
tree, whose pods are used in making the floors of native huts), and the
Kitiji Fulani (only found in Gujba and among the pagan Babur and Burra
tribes; they are themselves pagan). The origin of the Fulani has been,
and still is, hotly disputed.[551] They have not coalesced to any extent
with the bulk of the Bornu population and remain aliens and, to a
certain extent, pariahs. The Kanuri have many proverbs and sayings
embodying their contempt of them as ‘bushmen’.
(_e_)[552] The Koyams seem to have had the same origin as the Tubba or
Sef dynasty of Bornu. They are said to have reached Kanem from Yemen,
travelling slowly and living on the alms offered them as wandering
students. With the consent of Mai Arri ben Haj Umar (1645-84), Sheikh
Abdullahi and thirty-nine companions established themselves at Belbelec,
sometimes called ‘the town of the Kullumfardos’, where they founded a
mosque and a school. The origin of the term ‘Kullumfardo’ is said to be
as follows. When Abdullahi and his companions, all Koyams but not of the
same family, presented themselves to Mai Arri, the latter asked them who
they were. They replied, ‘Koyam’, adding ‘Kullum fardun’, Arabic words
meaning ‘all, separately’, wishing to explain that they were all of the
Koyam tribe, but of different families. At the present day it is only
the descendants of Sheikh Abdullahi, their first ‘Mokaddem’ or religious
chief, that call themselves ‘Kullumfardo’; the descendants of the
thirty-nine others are called Koyams. Sheikh Abdullahi was succeeded by
his son, Sheikh Umar. Owing to Tuareg raids and to famine Belbelec was
abandoned and the Koyams scattered. Some went south and, abandoning
their rôle of students, became herdsmen and acquired wealth. They took
the name of Kel Etti, a term whose meaning and origin are unknown, and
became subdivided into seven fractions, each with its chief.
A small number of disciples followed Sheikh Umar to Nupe, where he
remained some time, but he afterwards returned to Bornu and re-
established himself at Gaskeru, situated, like Belbelec, north of the
River Yo.
Umar was succeeded by his brother, Mustapha, who was the first to join
political functions to the religious ones, to which his family had
hitherto confined themselves. He appointed his nephew, Mahmut, as chief
of the warriors and said to him: ‘You shall be the Sheikh’s auxiliary or
lieutenant’ (El Auan, Lowan). Lowan was thus originally a military
title, and later became applied to the head of a district or a town.
At the end of the eighteenth century Gaskeru was destroyed by the
Tuaregs and the Koyam ‘Mokaddem’ established himself at the pool called
Sandaram, inside the walls of the Bornu capital of Gazerregomo (Kasr
Kumo).
When the Fulani captured Gazerregomo the Koyam ‘Mokaddem’ followed the
varying fortunes of the exiled king. When Shehu Lamino became head of
the state, the Koyams applied to him to be dispensed from payment of tax
as they had always been hitherto. Lamino, who had studied among the
Koyams in his youth, consented and established the Koyam ‘Mokaddem’ at
Zigaba on the north bank of the Yo.
In the last year of Lamino’s reign, however, a great famine occurred and
the Koyams again dispersed. The incursions of Rabeh scattered them still
further, and the present representatives of the Koyam ‘mokaddems’ now
live at the village of Kullumfardo in Munio.
The Koyams in British Bornu are semi-nomadic cattle-owning people living
chiefly in the districts of Bussugua, Ngunse, and Gusumalla.
(_f_)[553] The Mangas are mostly bilingual, speaking both their own
dialect (said to be related to Bedde) and Kanuri. M. Landeroin inclines
to the opinion that they are an indigenous tribe conquered by the
Kanuri. Manga is said not to be their original tribal name, but to have
been given them by the Kanuri.
It is said to be a corruption of ‘Madinga’ which signifies according to
some ‘gens difficiles’, according to others ‘the cunning people’.
The Mangas inhabit the country both north and south of the River Yo.
(_g_) The Gamerghu are a branch of the Masa family, but are now almost
extinct. Their villages are scattered along the course of the River
Yedseram. Their chief industry is horse and cattle stealing. Barth gives
a detailed study of Masa in his _Central African Vocabularies_, and
there is a vocabulary of the Gamerghu dialect, collected by Barth, in
_Notes on Some Languages, &c._ (Benton). They are semi-pagan.
(_h_)[554] The Mobbers, like all the other tribes, assert that they
originated from Yemen. Serfs of the Magumis, who were themselves the
subjects of the Tubbas or Sef dynasty, they were installed by the latter
along the course of the River Yo, from which they never strayed far, as
they had no knowledge of well-digging.
Their chief towns at the present day are Bosso, on the northern bank of
the Yo where it debouches into Chad, and Yo on the opposite south bank.
Nachtigal says of the Mobbers: ‘This tribe is according to some a
remnant of the Beddes, according to others a mixed race of Kanembus and
Beddes or of Sos and Kanembus.’ Like the Mangas, they are bilingual,
speaking their own dialect as well as Kanuri.
Little reliable information is yet available regarding the pagan and
semi-pagan tribes in the British Province of Bornu. A certain amount
about the Bolewa of Fika, including a short sketch of the language, is
printed in Benton, _Notes on Some Languages of the Western Sudan_.[555]
There is a short account of the Beddes in Koelle, _African Native
Literature in Kanuri_, p. 210, and a vocabulary in Koelle, _Polyglotta
Africana_. Overweg visited Babur in 1852, cf. Benton, _Notes on Some
Languages_, p. 222; for Barth’s notes and vocabulary of Marghi cf.
_idem_, pp. 78, 134, and 144. For list of Marghi kings cf. Appendix X
under Maifoni. There is a vocabulary of Kerrikerri in Koelle,
_Polyglotta Africana_.
[Footnote 549: Cf. Appendix XIV A.]
[Footnote 550: Cf. Appendix XIV A, p. 334.]
[Footnote 551: The latest account of the Fulani is contained in Mr. H.
R. Palmer’s articles now in course of publication in the _African Mail_.
The first article appeared in the issue of December 29, 1911. Cf. also
‘Notes on the Origin of the Filani’, by Capt. A. J. N. Tremearne, in the
_Journal of the Royal Society of Arts_ for June 17, 1910. Cf. also
article by T. von Stephani in _Der Islam_, iii, 1912, 352-7.]
[Footnote 552: Account mostly taken from _Documents scientifiques de la
Mission Tilho_, ii. 396 ff.]
[Footnote 553: Account mostly taken from _Documents scientifiques de la
Mission Tilho_, ii. 421.]
[Footnote 554: Account mostly taken from _Documents scientifiques de la
Mission Tilho_, ii. 391.]
[Footnote 555: In addition to authorities there quoted, there are also
articles by the late Major George Merrick in the _Journal of the African
Society_ for July 1905 and October 1905. I was not hitherto aware of
these.]
APPENDIX XIV A
DERIVATION OF SHUWA AND KANURI
ACCORDING TO M. CARBOU
Some writers, especially d’Escayrac de Lauture and Vivien de Saint-
Martin, assumed that the Shuwas were descended from the Koreishites,
pagan Arabs driven from Arabia by Mahomet. M. René Basset, however,
declares that the Koreishites were not driven out but became converted,
and pertinently asks, if they were driven out as pagans, at what period
were they converted? There is no record or tradition of the Shuwa Arabs
ever having been anything but Mussulmans. Cf. Carbou, _La Région du
Tchad et du Ouadaï_, vol. ii, p. 11.
M. René Basset and MM. Hartmann and Becker incline to derive ‘Shuwa’
from the Arab word _shaua_ = sheep, and to make it signify nomad
shepherds as opposed to a sedentary people. Vid. Carbou, _La Région du
Tchad et du Ouadaï_ vol. ii, p. 20.
‘The Arabs of Bornu and of the “Territoire Militaire du Tchad” belong to
the religious order of the Tojani. This brotherhood, which preaches
toleration, is the one which counts most adherents throughout this
region: the Senussi are not found, except in Wadai and the northern
countries (Borku, &c.). A very simple way of recognizing the Senussi is
that they pray with the arms crossed, instead of keeping them parallel
with the body, as all the other Maliki sects do.’ Carbou, _La Région du
Tchad et du Ouadaï_, vol. ii, p. 18. Cf. note [458] of the present work.
H. Carbou, vol. ii, p. 36 ff., enumerates the tribes of the Kwalme
Shuwas as follows (cf. p. 328 _supra_):
(1) Oulad Mehareb [my No. 7].
(2) Oulad Serrar [my No. 1].
(3) Oulad Salem, Oulad ’Amer [my Nos. 2 and 10].
(4) Assalé [my No. 8]. They are the descendants of Ali el Esselé (Ali
the Bald).
(5) Dagana [my No. 6], said to be descended from Othman Abou Diguen
(i.e. the long-bearded). They are mentioned both by Nachtigal and
Matteucci.
(6) Oulad el ’Aouan [not mentioned in my list, but apparently a
subdivision of the Dagana].
(7) Oulad Mansour [not in my list].
(8) Oulad Amiré, Oulad Ghanem, El Haouarti, Oulad Saïl, Oulad Mehoï
[not in my list].
(9) Beni Ouaïl [my No. 11].
(10) Oulad Abou Issé [my No. 14].
(11) Oulad abou Ghader [not in my list].
Carbou classifies the Wulad Himet [my No. 3], Salamat [No. 9], Badder
[No. 5], and Beni Hassan under the Djoheïna Arabs, not the Kwalme.
Two derivations are given of Salamat. One, that their ancestor was named
Salam. Another, that they are descended from a pagan slave, who, when
reproached for not fulfilling his religious duties, replied ‘nadem salla
mat’ (praying is killing work); hence he was nicknamed Sallamat. As M.
Carbou remarks, p. 56, this explanation is a little far fetched.
M. Carbou, vol. i, p. 4, says:
‘Kanem is a corruption of Keunoum or Konoum. This latter word has been
explained by means of the Tubu term “eunoum” or “onoum” which means
south, and of the letter “K” which serves to form the substantive. But
the Kanembu use the same word to signify the south, and it is especially
in their language that “K” serves to form the substantive.’
For all practical purposes the Kanuri and Kanembu dialects are the same.
‘Anum’ or ‘Ane̥m’ is the Kanuri for south, but I know of no use of ‘K’
for forming the substantive, unless one assumes it is an abbreviation of
the Kanuri ‘Kam’ meaning a man. Kanem-bu would then mean ‘the
southerners’. Cf. p. 314 of the present work.
M. Carbou, vol. i, p. 20:
‘This name, Kanuri, is explained in different ways. Some say that it is
composed of the Arab word “nur” (light) and the letter “K” which serves
to form the substantive. Kanuri would then mean “the people of the
light”, and this name would have been given to the inhabitants of Bornu
because they were the propagators of Islam in the country. Others say
that Kanuri is from the Kanuri “kannu” = (fire), and means “the people
of the fire”, a nickname given them by the Fulani, who as fanatical
Mussulmans considered the inhabitants of Bornu as destined to the flames
of hell as a reward for their sins.’
M. Carbou himself says that the Arab derivation has little value. The
Fulani one has less still: if the Fulani or any other foreigners wished
to nickname the Kanuri, would they not use their own language to do so?
Cf. p. 314 of the present work.
M. Carbou, vol. i, p. 21, has an elaborate argument to prove that the
word Bornu is derived from ‘birni’ meaning in Kanuri ‘a capital town’.
The Sef dynasty were driven out of their capital Njime by the rival
dynasty of the Bulala and went and founded another capital at
Gazerregomo. M. Carbou states that M. René Basset considers this
etymology of Bornu from ‘birni’ as very probable. In spite of this high
authority, the etymology is not convincing. ‘Birni’ or ‘Be̥rni’ might be
corrupted in Arabic writing into ‘Bornu’, or ‘Burnu’, but it is
important to remember that the natives never write ‘Bornu’ always
‘Barnu’. The Arabic vowel signs which we represent by i, e̥, and o or u,
are often interchangeable in Kanuri writing, e.g. I have seen the word
for ‘horse’ spelt ‘fir’, ‘fe̥r’, and less commonly ‘fur’, it could not
conceivably be spelt ‘far’. Cf. p. 311 of the present work.
APPENDIX XV
SELECTIONS FROM UNPUBLISHED CORRESPONDENCE
REGARDING OUDNEY, DENHAM, AND CLAPPERTON’S MISSION TO BORNU IN 1821-4
The following extracts are taken from the Tripoli Consular
Correspondence, now in the Record Office, and from papers in the
archives of the Royal Geographical Society. The latter are distinguished
by the letters [R. G. S.].
The following ‘précis’ from the accounts given of the travellers in the
_Dictionary of National Biography_ and in Nelson (vid. List of
Authorities) will help to elucidate the extracts.[556]
=Walter Oudney= (1790-1824), born of humble parents in Edinburgh, where
he picked up sufficient knowledge of medicine to become a surgeon’s mate
on board a man-of-war. 1814 promoted surgeon. At the Peace he returned
to Edinburgh, graduated M.D., when his inaugural dissertation was ‘de
Dysenteria Orientali’, and set up in private practice. Studied Chemistry
and Natural History, and had hopes of being appointed University
lecturer on Botany. He contributed a paper to the _Edinburgh Medical and
Surgical Journal_ for July, 1820, entitled ‘Cases of “Ileus” from a
twist of the Colon’. Appointed to the African Mission 1821, died at
Murmur near Katagum on January 12, 1824. Mrs. Larymore, in _A Resident’s
Wife in Nigeria_, p. 97, states that his grave is still pointed out by
the natives. Nelson says that Oudney asked Clapperton to hand his papers
to Barrow, i.e. Sir John Barrow, Secretary to the Admiralty, who edited
the account of Clapperton’s Second Expedition. In the Introduction to
the account of the First Expedition, however, Denham states that Oudney
practically left no papers. Nelson fears they may have been lost, but
remembering Oudney’s constant ill health, I think it is quite possible
that there were none beyond the few rough notes, half illegible and of
little interest, which are now among the Denham papers in the R. G. S.
Oudney is described as of middle stature and slight build, with a pale,
grave face, pleasing manners, and possessed of much enterprise and
perseverance. He was never married. In a letter to a friend from
Mourzouk, quoted by Nelson, Clapperton says that ‘Oudney is much admired
by the local ladies for the blackness of his beard, and myself for the
strength of my moustachoes’. Oudney, in a postscript on the same sheet,
says, ‘Clapperton is a strange-looking figure with his long sandy-
coloured beard and moustachoes’.
=Dixon Denham= (1786-1828), educated at Merchant Taylors School.
Articled to a solicitor, but in 1811 joined the army in the Peninsula as
a volunteer with the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers. In May, 1812, was
appointed a Second Lieutenant in that corps; promoted to First
Lieutenant in 1813. Distinguished himself at the battle of Toulouse by
carrying Sir James Douglas, commanding a Portuguese brigade, out of fire
when that officer had lost his leg. The following copy of a letter from
General Douglas to Col. Arbuthnot is among the Denham papers in the R.
G. S.:
MY DEAR ARBUTHNOT,
I am very sensible of the Marshal’s[557] kindness in desiring me to
recommend any officers of my Brigade to him who may have distinguished
themselves in the late affair. I avail myself of his permission to
mention for the third time Brigade-Major Maher and Lieutenant Denham of
the 8th Regt., my aide-de-camp. If His Excellency can in any way be
useful to Lt. Denham it will be a circumstance peculiarly grateful to
me. He is an officer I have lived in habits of the strictest intimacy
with—and whose conduct and attentions on the 10th[558] I am totally at a
loss how to repay.
Signed J. DOUGLAS,
Commg. 7th Brigade.[559]
Toulouse, 13 April, 1814.
To
Col. Arbuthnot,
Mily. Secretary,
&c., &c., &c.
Transferred to the 54th Foot,[560] who were in reserve at Huy during the
battle of Waterloo. In 1819 he entered the senior department of the
Royal Military College. In Oct. 1821 he purchased a company in the 3rd
Buffs. In Nov. 1821 he was put on half-pay, given the local rank of
Major in Africa, and sent to join the African Mission. Amongst other
things, he explored part of the shores of Lake Chad, which he named Lake
Waterloo. He returned to England in June, 1825, and was promoted to a
majority in the 17th Foot.[561] In Nov. 1826 he was given an unattached
lieutenant-colonelcy, and sent to Sierra Leone as superintendent of
liberated Africans[562] on the West Coast. In 1828 he was appointed
Lieutenant-Governor of the colony of Sierra Leone, but died there of
fever in May of the same year.
It is perhaps of some interest to note that Denham appears to have been
very modern in his ideas of the proper way of keeping in health in the
tropics. In letters to his brother [R. G. S.], written before they left
Mourzouk, he mentions that he always rises before sunrise, takes horse-
exercise, is very careful about where he gets his drinking and even his
bathing water from, and also says that he has a daily shower-bath, made
by pouring water through a wooden box with holes bored in it.
=Hugh Clapperton= (1788-1827), born at Annan in Dumfriesshire, son of
George Clapperton, surgeon.[563] At thirteen he was apprenticed as a
cabin-boy in a ship trading between Liverpool and America. He showed his
spirit by refusing to black the captain’s shoes. He was charged with a
petty act of smuggling at Liverpool, and sent on board the naval tender,
which carried him to Plymouth, where he was made cook’s mate.
Eventually, through the interest of his uncle in the Marines,[564] he
was made a midshipman, and served off the coast of Spain and in the East
Indies. On his way out to the East Indies he was ordered to take charge
of a boat which was sent to the relief of a ship in distress. The boat
was capsized and all the occupants drowned, except Clapperton and one
other. As he was being hoisted on board again, ‘he had his feelings
strongly excited, on hearing the wives of the Scottish soldiers on board
exclaiming, “Thank Heaven, it is na our ain kintryman, the bonny muckle
midshipman that’s drownded after a’!—”’
In the East Indies he joined the _Clorinde_, one of whose officers was
Mr. Mackenzie, youngest son of Lord Seaforth. Clapperton formed a great
friendship with this young man and nursed him through a dangerous
illness. Mackenzie eventually went home and died, but particularly asked
his mother, Lady Seaforth, to treat Clapperton as her own son. She did
all in her power to help Clapperton when he returned to England, but,
according to Nelson, Clapperton was too proud and touchy to accept much.
He had been deeply wounded by an insinuation of his messmates that he
was a tuft-hunter.
At the storming of Port Louis, Isle of France, in Nov. 1810, he was the
first in the breach and hauled down the French colours. He was next sent
to Canada and was cast away off the coast of Labrador, and lost the use
of the first joint of his left thumb from frost-bite; the thumb became
crooked and Clapperton got the nickname of ‘Hooky’. This is Nelson’s
account, but in the memoir by Clapperton’s uncle prefixed to the account
of his second expedition, it is stated that he lost his thumb when
trying to carry a boy during a retreat across the Canadian Lakes over
the ice.
At one time Clapperton thought of marrying an Indian princess and
settling in Canada. He used to give great feasts to the Indians, and
indeed this led to a deficiency in his accounts to the victualling
department. This deficiency was afterwards deducted from his half-pay
and involved him in financial difficulties, from which he was not
altogether relieved until his return from his first African expedition.
Whilst serving on the Canadian Lakes he used to have a hole broken in
the ice for him to bathe every morning, but could not persuade any of
his companions to join him.
He used to decorate his log-book with sketches of the sails carried by
his ship day by day, together with sketches of the coast, harbours, &c.
The officers who examined him for his promotion to lieutenant were so
struck with this log-book that they sent it to the Admiralty, where it
still remains.[565] He was promoted lieutenant in 1816.
In 1817 he returned to England on half-pay and became acquainted with
Dr. Oudney. Nelson tells an amusing story of how Clapperton was taken in
by a swindler. This gentleman, who represented himself to be a minister
of religion anxious to pay his tailor’s bill, borrowed £10 from
Clapperton, and in return asked him to dinner at Barclay’s Hotel in
Edinburgh.
‘An excellent dinner was set upon the table and discussed. Madeira,
champaign and other expensive wines were called for, and the two got
cheerful, joyous, happy, glorious. At length the swindler made a
pretence for going out a little, and Clapperton found he had to pay £2
or £3 for the dinner as well as the original loan, which he never saw
again.
He was appointed to the African Mission in 1821, returned to England in
June, 1825, and was promoted Commander. In the same year he was sent out
on a second expedition, whose object was to reach Sokoto from the West
Coast. Clapperton reached Sokoto, but died at Chungary or Jungavie, near
Sokoto, in April, 1827.[566] The account of his expedition was published
by his servant, Richard Lander. Clapperton had a noble figure; he was
six feet high and broad-chested.[567] He never married.
It will probably have been fairly obvious to any one who reads between
the lines of Denham and Clapperton’s account of their travels, that
their relations were not altogether harmonious. That they were not so is
abundantly clear from the Tripoli Consular Correspondence and the Denham
papers in the R. G. S., in fact, for a great part of the time they seem
hardly to have been on speaking terms. Doubtless there were faults on
both sides, though on the whole the correspondence leads one to side
with Denham. Clapperton himself admits in his journal on the road to
Sokoto during his second expedition that he was not a mild-tempered
man.[568] Oudney, his bosom friend, calls him ‘a rough diamond’, and he
appears to have been clearly in the wrong in refusing to obey Denham’s
orders, though the latter was very likely not tactful. It was not
unnatural, though it may sound snobbish, that the ex-A.D.C. to one of
Wellington’s brigadiers should find himself little in sympathy with the
ex-cabin-boy[569] and the self-taught surgeon’s mate, both of them
Scotchmen, a fact little likely to prejudice an Englishman of those days
in their favour. In a private letter to his brother Charles, now in the
R. G. S., Denham remarks of Oudney: ‘Neither had his professional or
pleasurable pursuits ever placed him in any other situations than the
gun-room of a man-of-war and his rooms in Edinburgh, twice on a horse in
his life, and except by water I think he had never travelled 30 miles
from Edinburgh.’
In another private letter to his brother Charles he calls him ‘Dominie
Sampson with more cunning’. In another, apropos of Clapperton, he
laments that a ‘gentleman’ had not been chosen as his assistant.
On Feb. 1, 1822, before they left Tripoli, Denham proposed to his
companions in writing that Europeans—except Dr. Oudney, who would be
busy with scientific work—should take it in turn to be ‘on guard’, or,
as we might say, ‘officer of the day’, for twenty-four hours. Duties—to
see sentries posted, stores issued, &c., &c. Dr. Oudney objected and the
scheme was not adopted. Oudney and Clapperton considered the proposal of
too ‘martial a nature’, and seem to have thought Denham was trying to
‘boss’ them.
Denham was, indeed, far from conciliatory, and there is a most offensive
letter from him to Clapperton, written some time after their arrival at
Kuka, in which he plainly states that he considers Clapperton’s conduct
throughout to have been unworthy of an officer and a gentleman, and
suggests that he shall mend his ways. The breach was very much widened
when Clapperton discovered that Denham had not informed him of a charge
of the grossest immorality that had been made against him by some of the
Arabs of the caravan. This is the charge referred to in the
Sheikh’s[570] letter to Clapperton printed on p. 430 of vol. ii of the
_Travels_. Denham afterwards wrote a formal statement disclaiming any
belief whatever in the charge, and explaining that the strained
relations existing between them had made him unwilling to mention the
subject.
The real fault of the matter lay with the Home Government, who had not
made the powers and position of the various members of the expedition
sufficiently clear; hence the jealousy and distrust, without which the
materials brought back by the Mission would probably have been more
ample than was actually the case. Denham and Clapperton were both fine
specimens of their respective Services, and deserve equal honour and
credit. The extracts from correspondence will now be intelligible.
The travelling names of the various members of the Mission were as
follows:
Major Denham. Rais Khaleel.
Dr. Oudney. Tibeeb.
Clapperton. Abdulla.
Toole. Rais Ali.
Tyrwhitt. Taïr.
Hillman. Ali.
(_a_) =Disagreements=
Extract from official letter of Colonel Hanmer Warrington, British
Consul-General at Tripoli, to Robert Wilmot, Esq., M.P., Under Secretary
of State for the Colonies, dated Tripoli, July 4, 1822.
. . . . . . . . . .
PS.—Much difficulty has already arisen and much undoubtedly will arise
unless one Gentleman is appointed as the Head of the Expedition, as
opinions, Interest, and private Feeling will always clash and prove
detrimental to the Public Service. Pray excuse the observation.
H. W.
Extract from letter of Capt. Clapperton to Consul Warrington, dated
Morzuk, September 10, 1822.
. . . A word for the Major, he has gone[571] without ever having
communicated to us his intentions directly or indirectly, and left me
without any instructions. I shall be silent upon his Conduct any further
than his loss will be a gain to his country. . . .
Extract from letter of Major Denham to Consul Warrington, dated Sockna,
October 11, 1822.
. . . Dr. Oudney’s natural disposition leads him prematurely to suspect
a want of good Faith in those around him; the feeling may be pardonable
while it continues to be an unexpressed one, and the Slight
disagreements that have existed between us, I say slight because on my
part I am sure there was nothing personal in our differences, hardly
deserve such insinuations as are thrown in the letter he writes to you.
It is a feeling however that has been rankling in his Breast ever since
the day of his appointment, when they wrote him from the Colonial Office
to say that Clapperton might accompany the Expedition as my assistant,
while he was to consider himself as Consul at Bornou.[572]
This feeling is anything but in unison with the mildness of the Dr.
exterior, and unjust towards me, as I was not the framer of my own
Instructions. . . .
On our joining the party at Memoon I found that Clapperton had commenced
Sketching the route, and from delicacy to him I abstained from
interfering in any way, as by so doing I must have taken some of the
Credit which I was willing exclusively should attach to himself.
I have differed in opinion from Dr. Oudney and do so still on some
points, but this arises, I may say entirely, from my taking the
Instructions of Lord Bathurst as the Basis upon which I act, and his, to
use his own expression, endeavouring to forget that he ever received
any. . . .
Extract from letter of Dr. Oudney to Consul Warrington, dated Mourzouk,
October 12, 1822.
. . . My worthy friend Clapperton is quite disgusted with his [i.e.
Denham’s] returning and threatens to return, but I hope I will be able
to prevail. . . . Clapperton’s loss would be that of a rough diamond
which could not be found in a country such as this. . . .
Letter from Consul Warrington to Robert Wilmot, Esq.
_Private._
Tripoli, Nov. 4, 1822.
SIR,
I have abstained for some time past acquainting you with a Hostile
Disposition existing in the Southern Mission. I think it would be
culpable in me, if I were to delay any longer offering my opinion, and
which I conceive ought to be done by the medium of a private Letter.
I have therefore the honour to refer you to the accompanying copies of
Letters which will speak for themselves.
I fear that Rancorous feeling may militate against the Public Interest,
and I am inclined to think, that in the present, as well as in similar
cases, blame may attach to each Party.
The Bone of Contention appears to be the great jealousy which has from
the first manifested itself between Dr. Oudney and Major Denham, and
probably the Breach has been widened by various paragraphs in the News
Papers, saying that the Mission is under the Immediate direction and
auspices of the latter.
For my own part I conceive their Instructions are clear enough, and that
the Orders of those Gentlemen are perfectly distinct, and ought not to
cause any division of feeling, or friendly understanding.
I am certain it is impossible to reconcile these Gentlemen, and I should
strongly recommend that Lt. Clapperton should be attached to Dr. Oudney.
They are countrymen, very Old Friends, and Dr. Oudney has undoubtedly
the most commanding Influence over Lieut. Clapperton.
They are prosecuting their Duty with the most zealous Exertion. . . .
It was impossible to have selected two People so well suited to the
Service. . . .
Major Denham is of a different cast of character, and is more the Man of
the World, and He both thinks and acts widely different, but at the same
time he evinces every Disposition and Inclination to perform His part of
the Interesting Research. . . .
Extract from letter of Consul Warrington to Robert Wilmot, Esq., dated
Tripoli, December 31, 1822.
. . . In Quarrels Blame may attach to each Party, and I think that it is
the case in the Present Instance. The Great Bone of Contention appears
to me a jealousy as to whom the Mission is confided to. I think the
Orders and Instructions speak for themselves, which clearly show that
Oudney and Denham are distinct and separate, it being the duty of the
Former from his Official appointment to afford every facility and to
give every assistance to the latter. . . .
Extract from letter of Dr. Oudney to Consul Warrington, dated Bilma,
January 14, 1823.
. . . My worthy friend Clapperton and the Major have had a little
quarrel on the subject of duty. The latter was pleased to issue orders,
rather too much of the field, directing Clapperton to give him from time
to time, when he might require, the Latitude of the different places and
the different courses. He refused to obey, and here the matter rests. He
(C.) came out as his companion, not to be subjected to the whim of any
man. He had been abandoned in Mourzouk, but notwithstanding that and the
martial tenor of the orders, he in his spirited reply told him he would
assist when he called upon him, but would in no respect perform what it
was the other’s to execute. I allowed my friend to settle the business
himself, and I am well pleased with the manner he has conducted the
affair. . . .
Extract from letter of Capt. Clapperton to Consul Warrington, dated
Bilma, January 14, 1823.
. . . The Major has taken upon himself a very extraordinary authority in
writing to me on service to give up to him copies of my courses and
obsns since we left Morzuk which I have very politely refused to do . .
. I allowed him to copy all my obsns up to Morzuk before he left that
place for Tripoli, as he is not able to take any himself. After the
cruel and un-Englishlike abandonment of me at that place without leaving
me his instructions, writing to say he was gone, or how I was to act,
can this man expect that I will allow him to take the credit of what I
do? No, I engaged to come out as his companion and assistant, not to do
the whole of the duty for which he was sent out to do, and which he
would claim as his own. Were I to do myself and my country so much
injustice as to give him a copy—he has been educated at his country’s
expense, let them see what he can do, and I will let them see what I can
do who never cost them sixpence for my education[573] and am anxious to
let the world know who that Lt. Clapperton is whom he mentioned in the
papers along with his own as if by accident . . . I cannot say when you
will see me again, for though the Major may and will return, as his zeal
is all wind, I shall do or die if they will let us into the country. . .
.
Extract from letter of Major Denham to Consul Warrington, dated Bilma,
January 14, 1823.
. . . Mr. Clapperton by that consequential stupidity, for I know not
what else to call it, made himself so unpopular that Boo Khaloom[574]
has long since ceased to notice him even by a common salute, and the
Arab Sheikh scarcely speaks to him; except with the lowest Arabs and the
servants of the Kaflé he converses with no one. He has thrown off all
controul and refused to act under my orders by Letters which I shall
send you copies of the first opportunity. I told him for his own sake I
hoped he would alter his determination, that for me it was a matter of
little importance, he nevertheless persisted and the consequences must
fall on his own head. The Doctor, who says but little since his illness,
took no part in the business—before the curtain—but I verily believe
they both thought I should be sadly distressed at this declaration of my
assistant. . . .
Extract from letter of Consul Warrington to Robert Wilmot, Esq., dated
Tripoli, March 31, 1823.
I have just received Letters from the Travellers which are generally
speaking of a very satisfactory nature, altho’ that Hostile Feeling
between Major Denham and Lt. Clapperton appears so much to have
increased that I feel myself fully authorized to avail myself of the
Conditional Power Invested in me, in your Dispatch of the 12th Janry.
last.
I send copies of the Letters I have received with my answers. . . .
Extract from letter of Consul Warrington to Dr. Oudney, dated Tripoli,
March 31, 1823.
. . . With regret I perceive it is hopeless to anticipate a favourable
termination to the misunderstanding between Major Denham and Lt.
Clapperton. It is not for me to give my opinion of right or wrong, but
it is my duty to endeavour to prevent the public service suffering, and
rendering abortive the views of His Majesty’s Government, and the most
effectual way I conceive to be to remove Lt. Clapperton from Major
Denham and exclusively attach him to you. He will therefore consider
himself justified in acting with you independent of Major Denham, and I
hereby attach the whole responsibility on myself by the assumption of
such power, and I feel persuaded that the Earl Bathurst will approve of
the decision. . . .
I shall write both Major Denham and Lt. Clapperton on the subject of the
latter being removed from the former, and to prevent mistakes you will
be pleased to consider this as official. I think you acted wisely not to
become a party in the embroil. . . .
Extract from letter of Consul Warrington to Major Denham, dated Tripoli,
March 31, 1823.
. . . It will afford you infinite pleasure to learn that the Bone of
Contention is removed, His Majesty’s Govt. having most handsomely
accommodated matters by placing Lieut. Clapperton under the exclusive
orders of Dr. Oudney, and I am commissioned by Earl Bathurst to signify
that His Lordship deems it advisable on Public Grounds at the same time
that Mr. Tyrwhitt is authorized to join you in the place of Mr.
Clapperton.
Extract from letter of Major Denham to Consul Warrington, dated ‘Kouka
in the Kingdom of Bornou, 4 April 1823, Thermr 104 in the Hut’.
Mr. Clapperton has made great havock amongst the Gazelles, but it is
meat I love not, neither do I the sport, for you are obliged to lay
about for hours under the trees in order to catch these poor animals
asleep, when you get a shot; this appears to me not giving the animal a
fair chance. I have hit but one and he gave me such a look with his soft
black eye—which has a wonderful brilliancy—that I vowed to sin no more
in that way at least. . . .
Extract from letter of Consul Warrington to Major Denham, dated Tripoli,
July 11, 1823.
. . . I trust in God the very circumstance of Clapperton being removed
to Dr. Oudney will be the means of restoring Friendship and good will. I
am ordered to convey to you both the Displeasure and animadversion of
His Majesty’s Govt. and you may both depend if this Hostile disposition
still continues it will be fatal to the future Prospect of you both, and
there is a handsome delicacy in making me the medium of conveying this
Disapprobation, probably not wishing to wound your feelings, in such a
remote situation. Let me beg and entreat you will meet each other
halfway and accommodate this affair. . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
PS.—Probably my expressions not being sufficiently strong as alluding to
the misunderstanding between you and Lt. Clapperton, I beg leave to
intimate to you both the strong sense which is entertained of the
Impropriety of your Conduct by His Majesty’s Government.
[A letter in similar terms was sent by Warrington to Clapperton.]
Extract from letter of Consul Warrington to Dr. Oudney, dated Tripoli,
August 1, 1823.
Three days since I received your Despatch of the 15th May. . . .
I trust Denham and Clapperton are reconciled, as I do not see any
symptoms of hostility in this communication. . . .
Extract from letter of Consul Warrington to Dr. Oudney, dated August 25,
1823.
SIR,
This letter will be delivered into your Hands by Ensign Toole of the
80th Regiment, a most Gentlemanly Young Man and agreeable Companion. . .
. He is expressly sent as an assistant to Major Denham instead of Lt.
Clapperton, who is attached to you. . . .
I send Major Denham 350$ by Mr. Toole as it must be unpleasant to Him to
apply to you on every trifling occasion, and I have given Mr. Toole 139$
for the same purpose. . . .
Extract from letter of Clapperton to Warrington, dated Kuka, Dec. 10,
1823.
. . . I had the pleasure of receiving your Letter when I was laid up,
which added much to my Recovery, and Denham’s civilities to me when sick
has made matters as well as they can be in this country. . . .
Extract from letter of Major Denham to Consul Warrington, dated
Mourzouk, Nov. 25, 1824.
. . . It would be the extreme of Injustice were I not now to state that
after the recovery of Mr. Clapperton from his very severe sickness until
his departure for Soudan, so great an improvement took place in the
understanding between us, that our Evenings were passed in front of poor
Dr. Oudney’s hut, who was unable to sit in the Air, with a degree of
sociability which had not existed since my return to Fezzan with
Bookhaloom.[575] Subsequent to Mr. Clapperton’s return from Soudan the
same cordiality has been preserved, he has indeed been uniformly
attentive and willing to afford me every assistance during the tedious
and fatiguing journey we have made together. . . .
(_b_) =Tyrwhitt and Toole=
The following extracts concern the two young men who were sent up at a
later date to strengthen the Mission.
Letter from Dr. Oudney to Consul Warrington.
Tripoli, Dec. 10, 1821.
SIR,
You already know my sentiments on the importance of having a British
Resident at Mourzouk, and Capt. Denham agrees with me in stating that
the Greatest Benefit may be expected by us from such an Agent. By such
an arrangement our communication with you will be kept up, and as you
judiciously remark, should Sickness or any unforeseen occurrence compel
us to fall back, a safe Asylum shall be found at Mourzouk. We cannot but
commend your choice of Mr. John Tyrwhitt. He appears to be a Gentleman
well calculated for such a situation, and he will undoubtedly support
with Credit the name and character of the British Nation.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your most obedt
Hble Servt,
WALTER OUDNEY.
Hr Warrington, Esq.,
Consul General,
Tripoli.
Letter from Consul Warrington to Earl Bathurst.
Tripoli, 12 December, 1821.
MY LORD,
I have already had the honour to recommend to your Lordship’s
consideration the appointment of a resident Vice-Consul at Mourzouk.
The good arising to the expedition under the direction of Dr. Oudney and
Capt. Denham is so obvious from that appointment that I shall only refer
your Lordship to the accompanying papers Nos. 1 and 2, and I trust the
nomination of Mr. John Tyrwhitt to that situation will meet with your
approbation.
He is cousin to Sir Thos. Tyrwhitt and Nephew to the Champion and a
Gentlemanly Quiet young Man, and by not Trading in any shape He is not
likely to excite suspicion and jealousy.
I mention Mr. Tyrwhitt’s pedigree, my Lord, from a thorough conviction
that the higher a Man’s connections are, the less He thinks of dangers
and difficulties and can endure Privations better than other Men. With
every sentiment of the highest consideration,
I have the honour
to be, My Lord,
Your Faithful &
obt servt,
HANMER WARRINGTON.
The Right Honble
Earl Bathurst, K.G.,
His Majesty’s Secretary of State,
&c., &c., &c.,
Colonial Office.
[The appointment of a Vice-Consul at Mourzouk was negatived by a letter
from the Treasury to the Colonial Office dated January 17, 1822, on the
ground that the probable advantages would not justify the grant of the
salary.]
The next extract—though of a previous date—shows who Mr. John Tyrwhitt
was.
Extract from letter of Mr. Tyrwhitt, Senr., to Consul Warrington, dated
Cook’s, April 12, 1818.
MY DEAR WARRINGTON,
As it is an object of the highest importance to me to get my son John
abroad for some time . . . I know not any one so proper to make an
application to on this occasion as yourself. . . . He has been very wild
and extravagant. . . . He is now out of the Navy. . . . I wish him to
have the least possible pocket money as he has a great propensity to
extravagance. . . .
[It appears that Col. Warrington owed Mr. Tyrwhitt, Senr., £500, on
which he had to pay interest at the rate of 14% per annum. Mr. Tyrwhitt
asks Warrington to take his son into his family and keep an eye on him:
in return he is willing to waive the 14% per annum, i.e. about £70. The
son remained with Col. Warrington for three years, to whom he appears to
have been a source of considerable expense.]
Extract of letter from Tyrwhitt to Warrington, dated Mourzouk, July 25,
1822.
I am not much disappointed at not being confirmed. . . . However, to
make the best of it, it is a long way to come for nothing, not even
thanks. I suppose the Doctor will pay my expenses down. I must not
return to Tripoli empty-handed, for there are some fine ostrich feathers
here, and I had promised both my Mother and Sister to send them some. .
. .
Extract of letter from Consul Warrington to Robert Wilmot, Esq., M.P.,
Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, dated Tripoli, August 26,
1822.
. . . I conclude Dr. Oudney will take Mr. Tyrwhitt along with him as a
volunteer, as from his easy good-natured Disposition, ever alert to make
Himself useless [_sic_], I feel persuaded Dr. Oudney could not have a
better person. . . .
Extract from letter of Consul Warrington to Robert Wilmot, Esq., dated
Tripoli, Nov. 4, 1822.
. . . Two more Gentlemen would be of very important advantage to Dr.
Oudney, as he has a wide Field indeed to act upon. . . . I can send them
from Tripoli to Bornou for 100£ provided they travel as Mr. Tyrwhitt did
from Mourzouk. I believe that Gentleman would be happy to make one of
such a Party, and Dr. Oudney wishes to have him with the Mission. . . .
[Tyrwhitt, however, returned to Tripoli and went for a trip to Italy.]
Extract from letter of Consul Warrington to Lieut. Clapperton, dated
Tripoli, July 11, 1823.
. . . I hope to send Tyrwhitt off immediately, as I am in daily
expectation of seeing him, unless Spider-like he may possibly entangle
himself in his own Webb, as it is said a lady of that name has a little
influence. My patience is near exhausted, and if he does not come, I
shall be much displeased with him. . . .
Extract from letter of Consul Warrington to Robert Wilmot Horton,
Esq.,[576] Under Secretary of State, Colonial Office.
Tripoli, 18 July, 1823.
SIR,
I have the honor to refer you to No. 1, being a copy of a Letter from
Mr. Tyrwhitt, who from sickness is prevented repairing to Bornou to join
the Mission.
I consider myself fully authorized by the Earl Bathurst to send one
Person as an Assistant to Major Denham in lieu of Lieutenant Clapperton,
who is now attached to Dr. Oudney, and conceiving it is perfectly
immaterial who is sent provided he is equal to the respective duty
required of Him, I shall therefore send this dispatch to the Government
of Malta and solicit His Honor the Lieutenant Governor will be pleased
to nominate a Gentleman for the appointment. . . .
Extract from letter of Major Denham to Consul Warrington, dated Kouka,
Jan. 20, 1824.
. . . I am sorry for the cause of Tyrwhitt’s declining the appointment,
but he has certainly acted the wisest part in so doing. Strictures and
gout, or indeed either of them, would afford strong reasons why a man
should not wish to embark in a service of this nature.
Malta, August 10, 1823.
DEAR TOOLE,
I have received to-day a letter from Mr. Consul Warrington at
Tripoli, stating that Mr. Tyrwhitt, who was to have proceeded to Bornow
to join Major Denham as his Assistant on the African Mission, is
prevented doing so by illness, and requesting that some young Gentleman,
who would volunteer in so arduous an undertaking, may be sent over from
this to take Mr. Tyrwhitt’s place.
Colonel Warrington mentions that the Person sent should possess some
knowledge of the sextant and of the Artificial Horizon, and further must
be prepared to encounter some dangers, much fatigue and many privations.
He must be a young man of strong constitution and inured to fatigue and
fasting, and above all must possess great ardor and zeal in the
undertaking.
Being well aware of the many qualifications you possess for a Mission of
this kind, viz. that you are an excellent linguist—speaking French,
Italian and German fluently, and that you understand the Maltese
perfectly which is nearly Arabic, that you are a good Draughtsman—can
survey, understand the use of the sextant, and also that you are healthy
and stout and inured to fatigue at all times, and having often heard you
express the greatest thirst and ardor for travelling in remote
countries, and besides being fully convinced that there is no one in
Malta so well qualified as you are for the object proposed by Colonel
Warrington, I have written you this, that you may volunteer to go, if
you should feel inclined to embrace an undertaking, which I must impress
upon you necessarily involves in it many dangers and immense fatigue.
I must also state to you that Colonel Warrington in appointing an
Assistant to Major Denham acts under the instructions of Earl Bathurst,
but he does not mention in his letter that he is authorized to hold out
any specified prospects of future advantage, but you may depend upon
this that my Lord Bathurst can never fail to give due consideration to
your services, provided you make yourself useful to the Mission.
Your necessary Expenses will all be defrayed, and in these you must pay
every attention to the strictest economy, and I understand also that a
small personal allowance is given, but what it is I do not know.
If you accept this proposal, you must be ready to start for Tripoli in
48 hours, as there is a Vessel on the point of sailing, and it is
absolutely necessary that you proceed to Tripoli without delay,—and in
that case you had better lose no time in applying for leave of absence
for a twelve-month in a regular way through your Commanding Officer to
the Major General Commanding.
I am, &c.
H. GREIG.[577]
Malta, August 10, 1823.
2 p.m.
DEAR GREIG,
In answer to your note of this morning, I hasten to assure you that I
embrace the proposal of going as an Assistant to the African Mission
with the greatest delight, and I shall be ready to start for Tripoli in
48 hours, having obtained the necessary leave of absence from my
Commanding Officer and Major General Sir Manley Power.
I do not mean to say, that I accept this situation without the prospect
of encountering both danger and fatigue, but I have no fear of either,
and I look forward to the journey with real pleasure.
The opinion you are good enough to express of my qualifications for the
Mission is much too partial, but I promise you, that neither zeal,
industry, nor a Constant desire to make myself useful will be wanting.
It is far from my intention to allude to any remuneration for my
Services, but I trust, that if I make myself useful to the Mission, that
my Conduct will be favourably considered by Earl Bathurst.
I have now been six years an Ensign in the 80th Regiment,[578] and I may
mention that my Ensigncy was given to me by H.R. Highness the Duke of
York at the request of my revered friend and Patron, Sir John Stewart,
by whom I was brought up and educated. And I trust it is not asking too
much, that if sickness or other causes should prevent my return from
this expedition, that my Lord Bathurst may be entreated to interest
himself to procure my Ensigncy for one of my younger Brothers, and you
are aware that I have four, all of whom are under the age of 18 and
quite unprovided for.[579]
I am, &c.
E. TOOLE.
Extract from letter of J. Maclean, Major Commanding 80th Regt. to Hector
Greig, Esq., Acting Chief Secretary to the Government of Malta, dated
August 12, 1823.
. . . Major Denham (whom I have the pleasure of knowing) will, I am
persuaded, consider himself fortunate in the selection you have made, as
he will find in Mr. Toole a zealous and able Assistant as well as a most
Gentlemanly Companion.
Did I not consider the present Undertaking as likely to prove of
advantage to Toole, I should particularly regret his departure from the
Regiment at this time, as, in consequence of the intended departure of
Lieutenant Penny for the Continent, it was my intention to have
appointed him to do the duty of Adjutant during the absence of that
Officer.
Extract from letter of Consul Warrington to Robert Wilmot Horton, Esq.,
dated Tripoli, August 25, 1823.
SIR,
I have had already the honor to inform you that in consequence of Mr.
Tyrwhitt’s Health not allowing him again to join the Mission, that I had
applied to the Lt. Governor of Malta to send a Gentleman instead of Him,
and He has accordingly been pleased to approve of Ensign Toole of the
80th Regiment joining the Mission as Assistant to Major Denham.
I have no hesitation to declare that the Public Service will be the
gainer by the Exchange, as I can safely say I never saw a finer young
man, or one more calculated for the undertaking. . . .
Extract from letter of Consul Warrington to R. Wilmot Horton, Esq.,
dated Tripoli, December 20, 1823.
. . . This Morning I have been informed Mr. Tyrwhitt is in Malta on his
way here. I am most happy to hear it, as I am confident there is full
Employment in the Interior for the whole Mission. The Road is as free as
I always said it was, and the Inst. Mr. Tyrwhitt arrives I will send Him
off. . . .
Extract from letter of Consul Warrington to Dr. Oudney, dated January
17, 1824.
MY DEAR SIR,
The arrival of Mr. Tyrwhitt and his appointment to the Mission will
afford you all, without doubt, much satisfaction. As it will be about
three weeks before he leaves this, I forward a Courier with copies of
Dispatches for you and Major Denham, which I have received from the
Colonial Office. . . .
Your little godson, Walter Bornow,[580] is now under the Vaccine
Inoculation, from whose Arm I send you the Matter, and Buttabel[581]
writes to state its introduction here and the efficacy of it. I know no
one whose Natural Disposition and extensive Ability is so devoted to the
benefit of our Fellow Creatures as your own, and I think you will evince
it by endeavouring to introduce the Vaccine. . . .
Extract from letter of Consul Warrington to Mr. Toole, dated Tripoli,
January 21, 1824.
. . . His Lordship, I am glad to say, approves of your appointment, and
has ordered £100 per annum salary being allowed you as well as Mr.
Tyrwhitt. . . .
Extract from letter of Consul Warrington to R. Wilmot Horton, Esq.,
dated Tripoli, February 24, 1824.
. . . 28 Feb. I took leave of Mr. Tyrwhitt at Melra yesterday morning,
fifty miles from this. . . .
Extract from letter of Major Denham to Consul Warrington, dated Kouka,
April 16, 1824.
. . . My amiable and clever companion and friend, Ernest Stuart Toole,
who really deserved all that his Friends at Malta wrote about him, has
fallen a victim to that Fever of this Country with which I have seen so
many attacked.[582] He died at Angala, a town about 60 miles South East
of where I am now writing, on the 26th of last February. . . .
He was most generally beloved here, particularly by the Sheikh, with
whom we used sometimes to pass an hour together in his Garden; and
indeed I believe we all might have died without creating the sensation
that my poor friend’s death has occasioned. . . .
Assisted by the Sultan’s slaves, Columbus[583] and myself laid him in a
deep grave to the N.W. of the Town.[584] . . .
A few more details of Toole’s death are given below.
Extract from letter of Denham to H. Greig, Esq. [who from an endorsement
on the back we learn was Toole’s brother-in-law], dated Kouka, March 10,
1824. [R. G. S.]
. . . He swallowed a little tea and seemed revived; about 6 he attempted
to speak, but could articulate intelligibly nothing but the word Mother
two or three times, and from that time until half-past 11 on the same
day, when he breathed his last, he scarcely moved, and expired without
even a struggle or a groan. . . . Almost the last words he uttered were
requests that his papers . . . should in case of any accident befalling
him be delivered by me into your hands. . . . His request I shall,
please God, comply with. . . . His sketches will, I think, be valuable,
very valuable, and should I not be permitted to return myself, I do hope
that with any notes of mine that may be considered worthy of publishing,
they may be given to the world, for any literary fame that my exertions
may entitle me to will lose half its value in my estimation if the name
of my amiable colleague is not coupled with my own. . . .
[I have not been able to trace these papers or sketches, in spite of
kind assistance from E. L. Bonavia, Esq., of the Chief Secretary’s
Office, Malta, and from the Crown Agents. Mr. A. C. Maberly of Eccles,
whose wife was a great-niece of Greig, informs me that none of Greig’s
papers have been preserved.]
Extract from letter of Major Denham to Consul Warrington, dated Kouka,
May 23, 1824.
MY DEAR SIR,
Mr. Tyrwhitt arrived here on the 20th in good health, after
performing the journey with great Expedition. Nothing can be more
satisfactory than the Letters of which he was the Bearer, and the
Presents for the Sheikh were everything that could be wished.
I send you, according to an Old Promise, a Bottle of the Niger Water. .
. .
Extract from letter of Consul Warrington to R. Wilmot Horton, Esq.,
dated Tripoli, August 18, 1824.
. . . I shall send four Spears and a Shield and a Bottle of Niger Water
(which I had the whim to request might be sent me) to you, and I shall
feel flattered if you accept. Of no value but as curiosities. I have
another bottle, and in drinking success to the Mission I hope I shall
find its efficacy in inspiring me with additional zeal for the Promotion
of Discovery. . . .
[There seems to have been a craze for Niger water. Barth promises to
drink a friend’s health in Niger water, vid. Benton, _Notes on Some
Languages, &c._, p. 298.]
Extract from letter of Denham to Lord Bathurst, dated Kouka, May 23,
1824. [R. G. S.]
. . . I have filled and secured in the best way that I am able, a stone
bottle with the Niger water; it was taken from a spot about two miles
from the embouchure of that River.
[In the same letter he suggests that the R. Yo or Wobe is the
continuation of the Niger. This water was probably therefore bottled
somewhere near where the Yo flows into Lake Chad.
Even at the present day it is a common saying that if you have once
drunk from the River Niger, you will always return to the Coast.]
Extract from letter of Mr. Tyrwhitt to Consul Warrington, dated Woodi,
Sept. 6, 1824.
MY DEAR CONSUL,
The Travellers having at last determined on returning to England, I
have accompanied them thus far on their road, it having been settled
that I should remain at Kouka as Vice-Consul in compliance of the wishes
of the Sheik till Lord Bathurst’s pleasure shall be known. . . .
I must confess that the remaining behind does not afford a very pleasant
or very cheering Prospect, but I hope under all circumstances I have
acted for the best, and that the step I have taken may meet with
approbation. . . .
[Tyrwhitt died at Kuka on October 22, 1824, and his death was reported
to Warrington by the Sheikh, who also sent an inventory of his effects
(which included 52 books), cf. Denham, vol. ii, p. 434. It does not
appear what eventually became of his property. It was to be handed over
to Capt. Pearce, who accompanied Clapperton on his second expedition,
and who seems to have been intended to be Consul in Bornu. Pearce,
however, died soon after landing on the Coast. War had broken out
between Sokoto and Bornu, and Clapperton was unable to revisit the
latter country. No attempt to re-establish the consulship appears to
have been made until the expedition of Richardson and Barth in the
’fifties.]
(_c_) =Hillman=
Another member of the expedition was a naval shipwright named William
Hillman, a native of Somersetshire. He appears to have been a typical
old salt, but in spite of constant ill health reached England again in
safety. His pay was £120 per annum (vid. Denham, Introductory Chapter).
Extract from letter of Major Denham to Consul Warrington, dated ‘Kouka
in the Kingdom of Bornou, 4 April 1823, Thermr 104 in the Hut’.
. . . Old Chips sometimes causes me to laugh, which does my heart good,
he has such a knack of rallying from Death’s door almost that his
illness seems to have no danger in it. Drink Grog he will whenever he
can get it, tho’ it kills him. He told me the other evening that he had
made up his mind not to learn ‘Harribik’. ‘I can’t make no hand on it,’
said he, ‘so I get Columbo to teach me a little Hitalian, for I tell
you, B—— the Navy Board. I hope the Colonial Board will provide for me,
who knows but what I may be a King’s Messenger, and the King, God Bless
him, may say, Hillman or Mr. Hillman, here take this letter to Hitaly,
why I must know Hitalian for that. . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
Sunday, April 6, 1823.
Oh for a glass of the Bashaw’s cold punch. We had yesterday a most
suffocating day with Therm. at 104. This bids fair to be just such
another. The water here is worse than at many places on the Road, altho’
here it is a little Cooler, for there we drank it about the heat of tea.
I found but about three bottles of Rum on my return to Mourzouk, and
Hillman, when I complained, tho’ Grogy at the time, said, ‘Why I’m not
the man to say a word against another, No, No, but that are little
Tyrwhitt did drink, by G—— like Winkins—for myself I can’t touch liquor
now.’
Extract from letter of Consul Warrington to R. Wilmot Horton, Esq.,
dated Tripoli, June 13, 1824.
. . . In one of Earl Bathurst’s Dispatches he suggested the propriety of
Mr. Hillman’s constructing a Boat to explore the outlet of the Great
Lake.
The idea was so good and so obviously beneficial for the object of the
Research, that I followed up His Lordship’s suggestion by requesting the
Boat may be built at Malta in that Portable way to be carried on two
Camels, and taken to Pieces and put together without difficulty. The
Government of Malta kindly acceded to my wishes, and Mr. Simonds, a most
scientific gentleman, is now engaged in constructing one. . . .
[We hear no more of this boat, but it is interesting in view of Barth
and Overweg’s famous boat. From a letter of Columbus[585] to a friend in
Tripoli it appears that some of the members of the expedition did embark
in boats (presumably native canoes) and navigate the waters of Chad for
a short distance.]
Denham’s views are given in the following:
Extract from fragment of a letter from Denham to Lord Bathurst, dated
June 18, 1824. [R. G. S.]
. . . Without two boats could be built to carry fifty men each with
fire-arms they would stand but a bad chance with the Biddoomy on the
Lake. Hillman says that one shipwright alone could not build a boat of
any kind, and he has certainly never since our arrival here enjoyed a
sufficiently good state of health for him to make the attempt had it
been requisite.
The following is a description of the Sheikh’s victory over the Baghirmi
invaders:
Extract from letter of Major Denham to Consul Warrington, dated Kouka,
April 16, 1824.
DEAR SIR,
Our minds have been greatly relieved within the last ten days by a
victory obtained by the Sheikh’s people over a very large force of the
Sultan of Baghermi, headed by two hundred of the principal persons in
his Kingdom, including nine of his sons, seven of whom are amongst the
killed and one a prisoner. . . .
The two Guns[586] for which Hillman had made Carriages and myself
Cartridges with Canisters holding 16 Musket balls each, appear to have
done great execution, altho’ only fired once, and have greatly alarmed
the people, even in whose defence they were levelled. . . .
A fuller account of the battle is contained in the following:
Extract from letter of Denham to his brother Charles, dated Kouka, April
18, 1824. [R. G. S.]
. . . The Sheikh advanced to within 200 yards before he unmasked his
little guns, supported by about fifty slaves and Arabs with fire-arms,
who were formed to the right and left, while immediately in the rear he
appeared himself at the head of his Kanemboo infantry with the double
barrelled English gun in his hand and an ammunition belt on his
shoulders dressed in a simple barracan like an Arab. He had told the
Chiefs previously that it was his intention to fight on foot, that he
expected all the Arabs to follow his example, and to encourage the
slaves who were but young at the use of the firelock. . . . He placed
his two Chiefs, Barca Gana and Ali Gana, on each flank with the Bornou
and Shouaa horse, with orders if attacked, to make the best of it, but
on no account to assist him. The Baghermi, who made for his Green Flag
in one solid mass, were not a little alarmed at the effects of the guns
at such a distance, . . . and a volley from the Arabs added to the
confusion. They now fell back on the Bornou horse, who as usual gave
way, and the attack of the Kanemboo with the Sheik at their head alone
decided the fate of the day. . . . The little stream, called Gambalarou,
near which the battle was fought . . . is said to have run red.
Again, Denham, vol. ii, p. 415, it is recorded that Hillman made a
covered cart, to be used as a carriage or conveyance for the Sheikh’s
wives; the wheels were hooped with iron, and it was extremely strong,
though neither light nor handsome.
Extract from letter of Hillman to Consul Warrington, dated Tripoli, Feb.
11, 1825.
HOND. SIR.
After many difficulties I have got safe and sound once more in
Tripoli, thank God. . . . I have taken the Liberty of sending a Lion’s
Skin, which I trust you will be pleased to accept . . .
With every due respect
Your most obliged
& very humble
servt.
W. HILLMAN.
Hillman was sent home in charge of the animals and baggage, via the long
sea route (vid. Nelson, p. 94).
(_d_) =Sheikh El Kanemy= [_Shehu Lamino_]
The enlightened character of this ruler is made very clear in Denham’s
book and in the Correspondence. The two following extracts are only
quoted to show the style in which he was addressed by the British Consul
at Tripoli, and the type of articles he valued as presents. Bornu is
very deficient in fruit and vegetables, and even the efforts of the
British Administration have not been very successful in inducing the
present native authorities to take serious steps to remedy the
deficiency.[587]
Letter from Consul Warrington to Sheikh Lamino [El Kanemy].
MOST EXCELLENT AND NOBLE SIR,
May the Great God who directs the Prosperity and happiness of all
Mankind reward you for the Kindness and attention which you have been
pleased to show my Countrymen, and that you will continue the same and
extend your Powerful Protection to any place they may wish to go is my
fervent Prayer.
Your three Sons, I am most happy to say, are about to return to their
most respected Parent, and I sincerely hope they may arrive safe and
find you in good health.[588]
My August King and Master has been pleased to order some Presents to be
sent you as a small token of that respect He feels towards you for your
great liberality and kindness towards his Servants . . .
I send you by this opportunity a Saddle, Bridle, &c., as a Personal Mark
of my great esteem and respect towards you.[589]
I beg you will at all times command me whenever you may send any Person
or Persons down here and that you may enjoy Health, Strength, and
Happiness is the ardent wish of your Sincere Friend and Servant
HANMER WARRINGTON.
Extract from letter of Major Denham to Consul Warrington, dated Kouka,
April 26, 1824.
. . . The Sheikh begs you will send him by the earliest opportunity the
following articles, and for which he says he shall pay me.
Seeds, both flower and vegetable.
Fifty locks of guns.
Tea.
Winter melon seeds.
A set of small Cairo coffee cups.
Two or three Glass cups with handles, holding a pint or thereabouts.
4 Turkish Coffee pots.
[Two boxes were sent to the Sheikh by Denham after his return to
Tripoli; the extract printed below concerns them. The presents brought
by Tyrwhitt are mentioned in Denham and included swords, pistols, gold
watches, and rockets.]
Extract from a letter of Denham to the Sheikh, dated December 4, 1824,
apparently from somewhere in Fezzan.
. . . Ibrahim will give you a box in which is Tea, Sugar, Coffee, the
glass cups you wrote for, two Coffee Pots and some Flints, and my friend
Said will give you 50 Gun Locks and a small box containing coffee cups
and seeds. You will also find two Musical snuff-boxes which my sister
begs you will accept for the kindness you have shewn her brother . . .
[The Sheikh sent presents to the King of England.]
Extract from letter of Denham to Mr. Wilmot Horton, dated 44 Lower Brook
Street, June 1, 1825.
. . . A horse from about the 10th Parallel of North Latitude with the
‘Libida’ or cloath covering wadded with cotton, which they use in battle
as a defence from the poisoned arrows; four parrots, one of which died
on the journey across the desert, two ostrich skins, a large box of
‘zibet’ or musk from the civet cat, and twelve specimens of the
manufactures of Soudan and the towns in the interior of the Kingdom of
Bornou, to which he added one of his largest tents entirely of Bornou
manufacture. These were all embarked on board the Brig _Britannia_
previous to my leaving Leghorn, with several animals and birds, with all
the minerals, plants, and other articles we had collected in the
country.’[590]
(_e_) =Cost of the Mission.=
Extract from letter of Consul Warrington to Earl Bathurst, dated
Tripoli, September 11, 1825.
. . . In my office the sums drawn for amount to £8575 17_s._ 7_d._ The
£5000 to the Bashaw[591] reduces this sum to £3790, out of which must be
deducted the 2500$,[592] say £530, will leave the expenditure at £3260
17_s._ 7_d._ Say the mission existed for three years and a half, which
would make £931 13_s._ 7_d._ per annum . . .
[Footnote 556: Obituary notices appear in _Georgian Era_, iii. 75, 82;
_Annual Register_ for 1828, pp. 210, 495; and _Gentleman’s Magazine_ for
1828, pt. i, p. 568.]
[Footnote 557: i.e. Marshal Beresford, in command of the Portuguese
armies.]
[Footnote 558: The battle of Toulouse was fought on April 10, 1814. The
8th is now The King’s (Liverpool Regt.). I have not been able to trace
at what period Denham was transferred to it. Perhaps it is a clerical
error of the General’s. The _Army List_ never shows him as in the 8th
Regt.]
[Footnote 559: 7th Portuguese Brigade, attached to 6th British Division.
Vid. Oman, _Wellington’s Army_, p. 372.]
[Footnote 560: Now 2nd Batt. Dorsetshire Regt. Denham’s diary during the
Waterloo campaign and afterwards in Paris is in the R. G. S.]
[Footnote 561: Now the Leicestershire Regt. His original commissions,
now among the Denham papers in the possession of the Royal Geographical
Society, show him as Captain in the 17th Foot and Major in the Army.]
[Footnote 562: For an interesting account of the duties of this post and
for the evidence given by Mr. Reffell, Denham’s predecessor, vid.
_Report of the Commissioners of Inquiry into the state of Sierra Leone_,
2 parts, 1827. A few sentences are printed on p. 14 of H. C. Lukach,
_Bibliography of Sierra Leone_, Oxford, 1910.]
[Footnote 563: In the four-volume edition of Denham, vol. iv, p. 256, it
is mentioned that Clapperton’s grandmother was a daughter of Col.
Campbell of Glenlyon, the officer in command of the troops who committed
the massacre of Glencoe.]
[Footnote 564: Thus Nelson, but, according to M‘Diarmid, Clapperton
wrote to Mr. Scott, a banker of Annan, who applied to General Dirom
[i.e. Lt.-Gen. Alexander Dirom, vid. _Dict. Nat. Biog._], whose wife
applied to her cousin, Capt. Briggs of the _Clorinde_.]
[Footnote 565: Thus Nelson, but I have been unable to trace it either at
the Admiralty or the Record Office, in spite of the kind assistance of
the Admiralty Librarian, W. G. Perrin, Esq. Cf. Appendix XX.]
[Footnote 566: For details of his death vid. p. 277 of the account of
his expedition. His grave has never been identified, but a brass
memorial tablet has been put up in the Sokoto Provincial Office by Major
Alder Burdon, C.M.G., first British Resident of Sokoto Province.]
[Footnote 567: There is a very fine portrait of him in the quarto
edition of the account of his expedition to Sokoto. From this and
frequent references in the Tripoli correspondence, it is obvious that he
was an exceptionally handsome and powerful officer. Cf. Appendix XVII.]
[Footnote 568: p. 176: ‘At no time am I possessed of a sweet and passive
temper.’]
[Footnote 569: Sir John Barrow, who edited Clapperton’s journal of his
second expedition, remarks on p. xviii that Clapperton was evidently a
man of no education. This is too severe. His letters are not ill-
expressed, though occasionally somewhat incoherent.]
[Footnote 570: i.e. Lamino.]
[Footnote 571: Denham came to the conclusion that the Bashaw of Tripoli
was wilfully delaying the Mission. He therefore returned from Mourzouk
to Tripoli and embarked for Europe, in order to get the Home Government
to expedite matters. He was overtaken, however, at Marseilles, by an
urgent message from the Bashaw, returned to Tripoli, and was soon able
to get matters settled to his satisfaction. His action was both prompt
and successful, but it would have been more tactful to have informed his
companions of his plans.]
[Footnote 572: When Mr. Hanns Vischer was in Tripoli in 1906, he was
presented by the heir of Col. Warrington with a book on Geometry,
bearing on the fly-leaf the inscription, ‘Walter Oudney, M.D., Surgeon
R.N. and H.B.M.’s Col. at Bornou’. The book is by Leslie, published by
Constable in 1817. Mr. Vischer presented the book to the Bornu
Provincial Library.]
[Footnote 573: In a letter to Warrington, dated Kuka, March 31, 1823,
Clapperton says: ‘He has been at the Royal Military College and
Greenwhich Observatory, I never was.’]
[Footnote 574: The Arab merchant who was head of the ‘Kaffila’ or
caravan in whose company the travellers journeyed from Tripoli to
Bornu.]
[Footnote 575: Vid. note on p. 345.]
[Footnote 576: He appears to have assumed the additional surname of
Horton about this time.]
[Footnote 577: Mr. Greig was Acting Chief Secretary to the Government of
Malta. He retired in 1846, and died in 1873.]
[Footnote 578: Now the 2nd Batt. South Staffordshire Regt.]
[Footnote 579: This was also his dying request (vid. Denham, vol. ii, p.
26), and it was granted by Earl Bathurst.]
[Footnote 580: I do not know what became of little Walter Bornow. I fear
he must have died young, as he does not appear among the numerous
Warringtons in the Tripoli Consular Correspondence in the ’fifties.]
[Footnote 581: Head Marabout of the Bashaw of Tripoli.]
[Footnote 582: He arrived in Kuka on Dec. 23, 1823—‘a robust, healthy-
looking young man, with a double-barrelled gun slung at his back’ (vid.
Denham, vol. i, p. 461).]
[Footnote 583: _Alias_ Adolphus Simkins, a native of St. Vincent, and a
sort of dragoman to the Mission. He signs himself A. A. Simkins, but
Denham, Introductory Chapter, spells it Sympkins. He accompanied
Clapperton on his second expedition. There was also a Gibraltar Jew
named Jacob attached to the Mission as ‘store-keeper’.]
[Footnote 584: Cf. Denham, vol. ii, pp. 23-6. Toole was only twenty-two
when he died.]
[Footnote 585: The letter is in dog-Italian, which I am unfortunately
unable to read.]
[Footnote 586: Vid. Denham, vol. i, p. 429. They were four-pounders,
presented to the Sheikh by the Sultan of Fezzan. Denham also relates
that Hillman made a large chair, ‘which pleased the Sheikh excessively’.
The Sheikh sent him some ‘gabaga’ [i.e. cotton strips, used at that time
as currency in Bornu], but Hillman returned them, saying: ‘No! the King
of England pays me—I don’t want that: but I am much obliged to the
Sheikh, nevertheless.’
John Belford, Lyon’s shipwright, made gun-carriages and a ‘coach’ for
the Sultan of Mourzuk. Vid. Lyon, p. 179.]
[Footnote 587: For presents sent to Shehu Omar vid. Benton, _Notes,
&c._, pp. 195 and 210.]
[Footnote 588: They had been detained in Mourzouk as hostages by the
Governor of Fezzan.]
[Footnote 589: This was a present to Warrington from the Bashaw of
Tripoli and was worth $1,000. It appears to have been rather a white
elephant, for in one letter Warrington hints to Horton that he would
like to present it to him. Presumably Horton intimated he had no use for
it.]
[Footnote 590: In charge of Hillman.]
[Footnote 591: Paid to secure and retain the goodwill of the ruler of
Tripoli. Without this the Mission could not have succeeded.]
[Footnote 592: Drawn but not expended. Warrington’s arithmetic is
obscure.]
APPENDIX XVI
BREEDS AND VARIETIES OF CATTLE, SHEEP AND GOATS[593]
COLOURS
_Cattle._
White ox or cow bida
Coal-black balle (_Koiyam_, kolliu)
Black and white yāmi (_Shuwa_, yabbe)
Red hamra
Yellow ole
Strawberry roan boni
White belly saje
Deep red mera
Dapple grey bage
_Goats._
White bullam, ke̥ri
Coal-black tselimma
Lightish black keara
Black and white kari
White with black neck mallam
White and red bururu, tosuno
Dapple grey kurguma
_Sheep_
White bida
Coal-black billa
White with black ears batinge
White bellied kordi
Speckled ngangala
Half white and half red or black wuda
Big ears and head bellani
White with black neck balo
Chestnut ke̥ngar
White tail and stern dubulu
BREEDS
_Cattle._
Bare—Big-horned Bornu cattle, no hump; derived from Arabic Bahr =
water, because these cattle came from Chad.
Kuri—Ditto: name of tribe living in Chad.
Wadare—Small (wada = dwarf) humped, short-horned.
Jawai—Very small, short-legged, from Mandara.
Abore—Spreading horned, humped Fulani cattle.
_Sheep._
Wagare—Large Bornu sheep.
Bellani—Big-headed, big-eared.
Wuda—Short-haired Asben sheep.
Yeriram—Long-haired sheep from the North: wool is manufactured.
_Goats._
Kani Ke̥nji—Common Bornu goat.
Kani Tukshi—Long-haired goat.
Kani Musgu—Small, short-legged pagan goat.
NOTE. On p. 193 of the Appendix to Denham’s book, first edition, it is
recorded that he brought home a pair of ox-horns measuring 42½ inches in
length and 23¼ inches in circumference.
[Footnote 593: Cf. Note [349], and vid. ‘List of Authorities’ under
Dechambre.]
APPENDIX XVII
NOTE ON PORTRAITS OF TRAVELLERS AND AUTHORS
WHO HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT BORNU
BARTH (in a frock-coat) in Petermann’s _Account of the Progress of the
Expedition to Central Africa_, reproduced in Joseph Chavanne, _Die
Sahara_, Wien, 1879, and in E. Schauenburg, _Reisen in Central-Afrika_,
There is a later photo of Barth in Gustav von Schubert’s _Heinrich
Barth_, 1897, and also one in Cust’s _Modern Languages of Africa_. The
Royal Geographical Society of London have a photograph of him, full
face, wearing his orders.
BEURMANN. I have not been able to trace any portrait.
CLAPPERTON. The frontispiece to the account of his second expedition is
a reproduction of a very fine portrait, painted by Gildon Manton,
engraved by Edward Finden. The same portrait is reproduced in the four-
volume edition of Denham, in Chavanne, and in Schauenburg.
Sir H. H. Johnston in his _Pioneers in West Africa_ states that the
original is now in the National Portrait Gallery. This is a mistake. The
original appears to have been painted in duplicate. One is in the
possession of John Murray, Esq., of 50 A Albemarle Street, whose firm
published Clapperton’s book, and the other belongs to Col. J. K.
Stewart-Mackenzie of Seaforth, Brahan Castle, Ross-shire. Col. Stewart-
Mackenzie is the present representative of the Seaforth family, and from
a note under a woodcut, on p. 7 of the _London Literary Gazette and
Journal of Belles-Lettres_ for 1829, it appears that the portrait was
painted for Lady Seaforth, mother of Clapperton’s friend Mackenzie, vid.
p. 340 of the present work. A portrait of this Mackenzie by Raeburn is
also in the possession of Col. Stewart-Mackenzie.
Mr. Murray’s portrait shows Clapperton as sandy-haired and of a pallid,
almost ghastly, complexion—perhaps a result of his African experiences.
This same portrait was reproduced in _Scribner’s Magazine_ for 1891,
vol. ix, p. 186. A small copy of it in oils on wood, about 12 inches
square, is in the possession of the Royal Geographical Society. A label
on the back of it states that it was exhibited in 1905 at the Naval,
Shipping, and Fisheries Exhibition, but I have not been able to trace
how it came into the Society’s possession or when it was executed.
DENHAM. A portrait painted by T. Phillips and engraved by E. Finden
(exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1826) appears in the four-volume
edition (1831) of Denham’s book, but not in the earlier editions; this
portrait shows him bare-headed and wearing a burnous. There is a print
of it in the Reference Department of the National Portrait Gallery and a
woodcut in _Scribner’s Magazine_, 1891, vol. ix, p. 187.
The original is in the possession of John Murray, Esq., whose firm
published Denham’s book. I was allowed to see both the Denham and
Clapperton portraits by the courtesy of Mr. John Murray, jun. A copy was
made some years ago and is in the possession of Dr. W. H. Denham Rouse
of the Perse School, Cambridge, who is a collateral descendant.
There is also a miniature of Denham, in uniform wearing the Waterloo
medal and carrying a sabre presented to him by the Bashaw of Tripoli.
This was painted by Newton and is reproduced on p. 7 of the _London
Literary Gazette and Journal of Belles-Lettres_ for 1829. The original
is in the possession of Capt. H. A. Denham of 16 Hallam Street, W., as
well as the Waterloo medal and the sabre. The originals of the water-
colours reproduced in Denham’s book, a plated bowl used by the explorer
in Africa, and a throne or curved wooden stool presented to him by the
Sultan of Bornu (probably the same as or similar to the one mentioned in
the account of the traveller’s first interview with the Sultan), are in
the possession of Capt. L. S. Denham of Taywell, Goudhurst, Kent. Capt.
Denham also informs me that the explorer brought home a Bornouese cloak,
which he presented to George IV at Windsor.
KOELLE. Photo in Cust, _Modern Languages of Africa_.
MATTEUCCI. I have not been able to trace any portrait.
MASSARI. I have not been able to trace any portrait.
NACHTIGAL. There is a photo of him in a tobe and fez in his book.
Another photo in European dress appears in J. Chavanne, _Die Sahara_,
and another in D. Berlin’s _Erinnerungen an Gustav Nachtigal_, 1887.
There is also a photo in Cust. A photo of him in evening dress is in the
possession of the Royal Geographical Society of London.
NORRIS. Photo in Cust, _Modern Languages of Africa_.
OUDNEY. I have not been able to trace any portrait.
OVERWEG. There is a portrait in Petermann’s _Account, &c._ This is
reproduced in Chavanne and in Schauenburg, and in von Schubert.
RICHARDSON. There is a portrait of him in a burnous with the hood drawn
over his head in his book _Travels in the Desert of the Sahara_, 2 vol.,
London, 1848. This is reproduced in Chavanne. There is a print of it in
the Royal Geographical Society’s collection, and also in the Reference
Department of the National Portrait Gallery, where also is a small photo
of a bust of him which was in existence in 1884. There is another
portrait of him in a double-breasted frock-coat, buttoned up to the neck
in Petermann’s _Account, &c._[594]
ROHLFS. There is a portrait in Chavanne and numerous ones, taken at
various periods of his life, in Guenther, _Gerhard Rohlfs_. The Royal
Geographical Society of London have a very faded photo of him in gown,
turban, and scimitar.
SCHULTZE. Photo in Mecklenburg, _From the Congo to the Niger and the
Nile_.
TOOLE. I have not been able to trace any portrait.
TYRWHITT. I have not been able to trace any portrait.
VOGEL. There is a portrait in Petermann’s _Account, &c._, reproduced in
Schauenburg. There is a portrait in native dress and turban in Chavanne.
[Footnote 594: James Richardson was born in Lincolnshire in 1806, was
educated for the evangelical ministry, attached himself to the English
Antislavery Society and under its auspices went out to Malta, where he
took part in the editing of a newspaper and also engaged in the study of
the Arabic language. For account of his published works vid. Benton,
_Notes, &c._, p. 150 ff.]
APPENDIX XVIII
(VID. NOTE [62])
FADEL ALLAH AND THE FRENCH
A portion of Rabeh’s force was not present at Kusseri as they were in
garrison at Karnak (Logone) under Fadel Allah. The latter retreated upon
Dikoa, pursued by the French [vid. Guilleux, ‘List of Authorities’]. He
was routed on the River Yedseram, but escaped and rallied his forces at
Mugelbu in Southern Mandara. From here he communicated in the autumn of
1900 with the British Resident at Ibi on the River Benue. From Mugelbu
Fadel Allah moved back to the Kilba hills on the Yola-Bornu border, and
later traversed Marghi, via Chibuk, where his camp can still be seen,
then on to Marguba on the Maiduguri-Gujba road. From here he made a raid
on Maiduguri and defeated the Shehu’s general, Mestrema Musa, chief
eunuch, just outside the town. Mestrema Musa (Mallam Musa) is now Ajia
of Borsari. Fadel Allah then continued his raid to Dikoa, which he found
abandoned and burnt. Shehu Garbai fled from Dikoa to Ngala where he gave
battle to F. Allah, but was defeated and fled to Kanem.
The French collected their forces and Fadel Allah had to retire
hurriedly on Marguba, whence with his brother Moman Niebé in command of
the advance guard with the women and baggage, he continued his retreat
south-westwards; the pursuing French shelling the town of Billaraba,
south of Gujba, under the mistaken impression that Fadel Allah was
there, before returning to Dikoa.
Fadel Allah camped for some months in the spring of 1901 at Gwani and
Bima on the River Gongola and again communicated with the British
Resident of Ibi. Fadel Allah pressing for an interview with a
representative of the British Government, Major McClintock was sent up
by the Acting High Commissioner.
This officer met Fadel Allah at Burguma on the Maiduguri-Gujba road,
and, counselling him to remain in camp pending the decision of the
British Government (vid. note [67]), marched back through the Marghi
district to Yola.
Fadel Allah disregarded this instruction and sent one of his
lieutenants, named It, to dig up a gun which had been buried near Dikoa.
The French attacked and killed It, and again Fadel Allah retired to
Gujba. Here, on the Ansei swamp, the final skirmish took place on August
27, 1901. Fadel Allah was shot through the body on horseback, but was
got away to Mutue, where he was buried in the swamp. The French dug him
up, cut off his head and took it back to Dikoa. The name of the French
commander was Dangeville. Moman Niebé surrendered and returned with the
French to the French Congo.
APPENDIX XIX
HEAD-QUARTERS OF BRITISH BORNU
When Bornu was occupied in the spring of 1902 by the British force under
Colonel Morland, and Shehu Abubakr Garbai invited in from Dikoa to
become Head of the greater bulk of the land of his fathers, now stripped
of districts apportioned by treaty to Germany and France, it was
promised that the Shehu should restore and repopulate ruined Kuka if he
could: in the meantime he made his temporary capital at the ancient site
and large market village of Mongonu, some seventeen miles southward on
the Maiduguri road.
On the appointment a few months later of a Civil Resident, this officer
found it expedient to reside himself at Mongonu, leaving the eastern
garrison still at Maiduguri, where Colonel Morland had placed it, with a
fort. Next year, when the Shehu made his experimental move to Kuka, the
Resident decided that the institution of internal caravan tolls, the
paucity of the administrative staff and other considerations required
his residence at the more central locality of Magumeri, where the
Residency continued until the end of 1904, when Kuka became the joint
capital of the British and the native administration.
At the end of 1906 it became evident that no efforts of the Shehu could
attract a population or trade approaching half of its volume or
importance prior to the sack of the city thirteen years previously, and
that mere sentiment did not justify the retention and rebuilding of a
site unhealthy and depressing, and no longer central or convenient. The
Resident and the Shehu accordingly moved then down to Maiduguri, the
capital of British Bornu to-day.
The government station of Maiduguri, civil and military, is built upon
the sandy rise, some 1,000 feet above mean sea level, on the left bank
of the little River Alo, upon which the small village of Maifoni used to
stand. This is the place wrongly termed Mabani by Barth, whose map also
shows the stream flowing the wrong way. The situation is healthy,
commanding, and with a good water supply. Maiduguri, the large market
village, is some 3½ miles away; and between this and the government
station, upon the sites of the little hamlets of Kalua, is built the
Shehu’s quarter, known at first as Yeriwa, but now as Shehuri. For
general convenience, the absorbed hamlets of Kalua, the village of
Maifoni (now moved into ‘Shehuri’), Shehuri and Maiduguri,
themselves—comprising in all a population of some 10,000, together with
the government station—are known as Maiduguri, likely soon to develop
into a thriving commercial centre, on the highway to the Shari, Darfur,
and the Nile.
APPENDIX XX (vid. p. 341)
CLAPPERTON’S PROMOTION TO LIEUTENANT
Clapperton passed for promotion to the rank of Lieutenant in 1813. He
was given the acting rank of Lieutenant whilst in command of the
_Confiance_ schooner on the Canadian lakes, but the Admiralty refused to
confirm this. He was finally promoted in 1816 and ante-dated to 20th
March, 1815. For the latter fact and for the subjoined certificate I am
indebted to the kindness of W. G. Perrin, Esq., Admiralty Librarian:—
Pursuant to an Order from Sir Samuel Hood, Bart., K.B., Vice Admiral of
the Blue and Commander in Chief of H.M. Ships and Vessels employed and
to be employed in the East Indies and Seas adjacent, &c., dated 5th
February 1813.
We have examined Mr. Hugh Clapperton, who appears by Certificate to be
more than Nineteen Years of age and has been to sea more than six years
in the Ships and qualities undermentioned, viz.:—
[Bty.: _Bounty._; A.: _Age._; E.: _Entry._; Q.: _Quality._;
D.: _Discharge._; T.: _Time._; C.: _Cause._]
------------+----+--------+--+-----+-----+-----+--+-------------------
| | _Place | | | | D. | | _Time._
_Ship._ |Bty.| Where |A.| E. | Q. +-----+C.+-------------------
| | Born._ | | | | T. | |_Y._|_M._|_W._|_D._
------------+----+--------+--+-----+-----+-----+--+----+----+----+----
Renommie | — |Scotland|— | 25 | Ab | 24 |— | 0 | 11 | 3 | 5
| | | |Novr.| |Octr.| | | | |
| | | |1806 | |1807 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Do. | — | — |— | 25 |Midn.| 10 |— | 0 | 8 | 5 | 0
| | | |Octr.| |June | | | | |
| | | |1807 | |1808 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Venerable | — | — |— | 11 |Midn.| 27 |— | 0 | 9 | 1 | 5
| | | |June | |Feb. | | | | |
| | | |1808 | |1809 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Passenger |None| — |— | 28 |Supy.| 14 |— | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1
to join | | | |Feb. |Midn.|March| | | | |
H.M. Ship | | | |1809 | |1810 | | | | |
Clorinde | | | | | | | | | | |
as pr | | | | | | | | | | |
certificates| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Clorinde | — | — |— | 15 |Midn.| 20 |— | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0
| | | |Mar. | |June | | | | |
| | | |1810 | |1811 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Do. | — | — |— | 21 | M. | 5 |— | 1 | 8 | 1 | 2
| | | |June |Mate |Feby.| | | | |
| | | |1811 | |1813 | | | | |
------------+----+--------+--+-----+-----+-----+--+----+----+----+----
| 6 | 2 | 3 | 6
--------------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----
He produceth Logs kept by himself in His Majesty’s Ships Renommie,
Venerable, and Clorinde, and Certificates from Captains Livingstone,
King, Pascoe, Edgecombe, and Briggs of his diligence and sobriety and
obedience to commands. He can splice, knot, reef a sail, work a ship in
sailing, shift his tides, keep a reckoning of a ship’s way, by plain
sailing and Mercators, observe by the sun or star, find the variation of
the compass, and is qualified to do his duty as an able Seaman and
Midshipman.
Given under our hands on board H.M.S. Clorinde, Bombay Harbour, 7th
February 1813.
(Sgd) THOS. BRIGGS, Captain H.M.S. Clorinde.
WM. H. WEBLEY, Captain H.M.S. Illustrious.
GEO. ELLIOT, Captain H.M.S. Hussar.
APPENDIX XXI
A BORNU PRINCE AT TRIPOLI
There is a book the full title of which is ‘Letters written during a ten
years’ residence at the Court of Tripoli, published from the originals
in the possession of the family of the late Richard Tully, Esq. the
British Consul’. London, 1816, quarto. Third edition, 2 vols., octavo,
1819 [five coloured plates].
Vol. ii, pp. 51-5, under date of July 28, 1789, there is a short
description of the visit to Tripoli of a ‘black prince of Bornu’
returning to his own country from Tripoli, who was accompanied by three
wives, one of whom had learnt enough Italian to express herself in
‘Lingua Franca’.
According to Tully, the prince was very well informed and wore ‘pearls
of uncommon size’ as well as ‘large gold ear-rings set with the most
valuable jewels’.
The prince gave a highly coloured description of Bornu, which he
declared abounded with grapes, apricots, and pomegranates, whilst the
‘enormity’ of slave-dealing was not indulged in by his countrymen, who
left such things to the Christians and Pagans!
Tully further states that the people of Tripoli had such an idea of the
numbers of the Bornu army, that they say when the army leaves the town a
large date-tree is laid before the gate, on which each man steps as he
passes, and ‘as the foot soldiers go through the gate they wear out the
body of this tree’.
[For visit of a Bornu prince to Tripoli in 1853 vid. Benton, _Notes,
&c._, p. 188.]
INDEX
Abana, 275.
Abba Bashir, 271.
Abba Bukar Kura, 268.
Abba Bukar, Rabeh’s lieutenant, 278.
Abba Kiari, _vid._ Shehu Kiari.
Abba Masta, _vid._ Abba Mustapha.
Abba Mustapha, 277, 303 ff.
Abba Sanda, son of Shehu Ashimi, 298.
Abbega, 232.
Abd-el-Kadir ibn Al-Haji Isa Muzi, 299.
Abdurrahman, _vid._ Shehu Abdurrahman.
Abeshr, 290.
Abore, _vid._ Fulani.
Aburraga, 276.
Abu Sikkin, 294.
acacia, 78, 86.
Adamawa, 23, 41, 44, 200, 219, 272, 291, 299.
_Adansonia digitata_, _vid._ kuka-tree.
_Aegyptischer Kurier_, 300.
Affade, 16, 115, 184.
‘African Holland’, 57.
_African Mail_, 329.
_African Society’s Journal_, 193, 332.
Afuno, 310.
agriculture, 177 ff., 210.
Ahmed, sultan or ‘mai’ of Bornu, 19, 20.
Aïr, 17, 127, 152.
Alexander, Boyd, 23, 30, 36, 144.
Alexander, Dr. David, 159.
Al Haji of Bedde, 273.
Ali Gana, 372.
Ali Ghajideni, 16, 17.
Ali, last King of Bornu, 22.
Allen, 217.
Alo, lake, 17, 310.
Alo, river, 289, 384.
Almis, 317.
Amadu Guimi, 278.
ambach, 94, 182, 187, 259.
ambatsch, _vid._ ambach.
America, 109, 110, 111, 160.
America, negro slaves in, 226.
ancestor-worship, 194.
animals, love of, 178.
Angala, _vid._ Ngala.
_Anogeissus leiocarpa_, 101.
Ansei, 61.
antelope, 122 ff.
ants, 155 ff.
ants, white, _vid._ termites.
ant-eater, 121.
ant-lion, 160.
Arabs, Djoheina, 334.
Arabs from Tripoli, 32, 197, 218.
Arabs, Shuwa, _vid._ Shuwas.
_Arachis hypogaea_, _vid._ ground-nut.
armadillo, 121.
armour, 175, 193.
Arri Fugumani, 270.
arrow-poison, 89, 100, 104, 193.
Arthur, 5.
artillery, _vid._ cannon.
Asben, 35, 300.
_Asclepias gigantea_, 83.
Audoin, 49, 53, 69.
Auta, 37.
Azhar, 4.
Babur, 194, 329, 332.
Badamuni, 44.
badger, 120.
Baedeker, 3.
Baghdad, 246.
Bagirmi, 22, 30, 34, 198, 222, 255, 259, 286-7, 297, 300, 371.
Bahia, 226.
Bahr-el-Ghazal, 49, 51, 53, 233, 308.
Ba-Ili, 58.
_Balanites aegyptiaca_, _vid._ hadjlidj.
Balbaya, 272.
Bama, 88.
banana, 77.
Banda, 286.
Bangasso, 29.
banyan, 91.
Barca Gana, 372.
bark, use of, 80.
barometrical observations, 307.
Barrow, 337, 343.
Barth, 11, 12, 13, 23, 232, 250, 378, _et passim_.
Barua, 48.
basingers, 284.
basket-work, 184.
Basset, 333, 336.
Bathurst, 356, _et passim_.
bats, 116.
Bauchi, 217, 225, 300, 301.
Bauer, 202.
_Bauhinia reticulata_, 88.
beans, 108.
Becker, 333.
Bedde, 194, 250, 259, 272, 273, 276, 290, 298, 300, 331, 332.
bee-eater, 131.
bees, 154, 191.
beeswax, 217.
beetles, 151 ff.
Béhagle, 34.
Belangawa, 258.
Belbelec, 329, 330.
Belford, 371.
Bello, 232, 259, 292, 302.
be̥nde̥ge̥, 284.
Beni Hassan, 197, 334.
benniseed, 108.
Benton, S. L., 6.
Benue, 23, 218, 230.
Bera, 266.
Berbers, 169.
Berdoa, 247.
Berebere, _vid._ Kanuri.
Beurmann, 12, 25, 225.
Bida, 229.
Biddoomy, _vid._ Budduma.
Billaraba, 382.
Bima, 382.
Birni, _vid._ Gaserregomo.
bito, 86.
black cotton soil, _vid._ firki.
boars, wild, 126.
boat, construction of, 23, 370.
Bodele, 51.
Boettger, 164.
Bohari, 265.
Bolewa, 332.
Bonavia, 366.
Bonnel de Mezières, 281, 294.
Boo Khaloom, 350, 354.
_Borassus aethiopum_, _vid._ palm, deleb.
Borku, 247, 285, 309, 333.
Bornu, ancient empire of, 3, 15.
— etymology of, 13, 295, 311, 335.
— geographical limits of, 40.
— head-quarters of, 383 ff.
— list of kings of, 239.
— list of tribes of, 325.
— population of, 206-7.
— prince at Tripoli, 387.
— _the land of lies_, 170.
Bornuski, 60.
Borroro, _vid._ Fulani.
Borsari, 311, 382.
Bosso, 332.
botany, 222; cf. Flora in List of Contents.
bowstringing, 269.
Bretonnet, 35.
bricks, burnt, 18, 176.
Briggs, 340, 387.
Budduma, 186, 187, 226, 370.
Budugar, 99.
buffalo, 123.
bugs, 120, 162.
buildings, 175, 184, 190, 193, 198.
Bulala, 16, 247, 335.
bul-bul, 138.
Bulu, 186.
Bunu, 275.
Burdon, 225, 239, 322, 342.
Burguma, 383.
Burgu Manda, 255 ff., 259.
Burra tribe, 329.
bush-babies, 116.
bush-fowl, 139.
Bussugua, 311, 331.
bustard, 140.
Buttabel, 364.
butterflies, 151, 153 ff., 228, 234 ff.
cactus, 89.
calabash, 112.
Calatrava, 280.
calendar, 322.
_Calotropis procera_, 83.
camel, 74, 166, 213.
Cameroons, _vid._ Kameruns.
_Candelabria euphorbia_, 103.
cannon, 177, 180, 278, 284, 288, 371, 383.
canoes, 185, 187.
— harvesting in, 58.
caoutchouc, 91, 217.
_Capparis sodata_, 85, 161.
— _tomentosa_, 90.
Carbou, 327, 333.
cart, 372.
cat, wild, 120.
caterpillars, 158.
cattle, _vid._ oxen.
— breeding, 212, 226, 231.
— disease, 166, 200, 226.
_Ceiba_, 77, 97.
centipedes, 162.
Chad Game Reserve, 125.
— Lake, 46 ff.; absence of trees, 93; called Lake Waterloo, 339;
connexion with the Nile, 149, 164, 308; saltness of, 53.
— Lake islanders, _vid._ Buddumas.
chair, construction of, 371.
Challamel, 91, 177.
Chaillé-Long, 29.
_Chamaerops_, 84.
chameleon, 146.
cheetah, 118.
Chibuk, 225, 382.
Chudeau, 127, 145.
Chungary, 342.
civet-cat, 120, 167.
Clapperton, 11, 21, 339 seq., 379; his nickname, 341; promotion of,
341, 385; relations with Denham, 343 ff.; travelling name, 345.
_Clorinde_ frigate, 340, 386.
clouds, 71.
coach, construction of, 371.
Cobb, 307.
Cointet, 36.
Columbus, 365, 369, 370.
_Confiance_ schooner, 385.
consul at Bornu, 346, 368.
Constantinople, 227, 246.
Coppolani, 209.
cotton, 111, 211.
Courami, 226.
cowries, 215.
crabs, 163.
crane, 142.
cress, 108.
crickets, 162.
crocodile, 145, 187.
crocodile-bird, 141.
crow, 137.
Crown Agents, 366.
crown-bird, 142.
Crosbie, 3.
_Crucifera thebaica_, _vid._ palm, dum.
cuckoo, 130.
Dabo, 302.
‘dadawa’, 102.
Dala Gumami, 247.
Damagaram, 227, 259, 261.
Damerghu, 300.
Dangeville, 383.
darter, 144.
Darfur, 232, 285, 297, 309, 327.
date, _vid._ palm, date.
dates in the calendar, 322.
Dass, 301.
dassie, 126.
Daura, 259, 300.
Decorse, 226, 327.
Demombynes, 226, 327.
‘dendal’, 177.
Denham, 11, 21, 47, 55, 222, 337 ff., 379; relations with Clapperton,
343 ff.; travelling name, 345.
— present representatives of, 6, 380.
Depont, 209.
‘dervishes’, 29.
dew, 72.
D’Huart, 50, 223.
Dikoa, 31, 36, 37, 197, 219, 253, 289, 312, 382.
Dikwa, _vid._ Dikoa.
Dinkas, 284, 297.
Dirom, 340.
Dissa, 66.
dog, 167.
— flying, 116.
— wild, 119.
dollar, 215.
Dominik, 57, 117, 119, 124, 185.
donkeys, 166.
Dorugu, 232.
Douglas, 338.
dove, 138.
dragon-flies, 160.
‘dubbo-dubbo’, 225.
Duchi, 278.
duck, 143; Muscovy duck, 167.
‘Duck’s-bill’, 5.
Dudgeon, 177.
duiker, 123.
Dujarric, 227, 279.
dukhn, 105.
Dunama Dibbalami, 15.
Dungass, 261.
Durman, _vid._ Shehu Abdurrahman.
durrha, 106.
dysentery, 73.
eagle, 133.
Edriss Aloma, 17, 111, 310.
education in Bornu, 172-3.
Egga, 229.
Egypt, 18, 246.
El Amin el Kanemy, _vid._ Lamino.
elephant, 124-5.
Ellis, Dr. Martin, 307.
_Encyclopaedia of Islam_, 4, 280, 284.
ethel, 85.
eunuchs, 227, 274.
eye-disease, 75.
execution, forms of, 269, 271.
Fadel Allah, 36 ff., 228, 279, 382 ff.
Fadr el Allah, _vid._ Fadel Allah.
Fahrenheit, how to reduce centigrade to, 63.
Fake, 260, 301.
faki, 287.
Fantrassou, 308.
fenek, 119.
ferns, 104.
Ferryman, 285, 286.
Fertit, 286.
festivals, 320 ff.
fetishism, 209.
Fezzan, 199, 267.
figs, 99, 104.
Fika, 225, 273, 291, 298, 332.
Fillani, _vid._ Fulani.
finches, 135, 137.
fire-arms, 17, 32, 260, 284.
fire-flies, 153.
‘firki’, 46, 59, 60, 95, 129, 160, 210.
fish, 149.
fishing, 178-9, 185, 192.
Fittri, 16, 247.
fleas, 160.
flies, 158 ff.
fly-catcher, 138.
flying-dog, 116.
Fort Archambault, 35.
Fort Lamy, 229.
Foureau, 35.
‘fowo’, 94.
francolin, 139.
Freydenberg, 47, 48, 51.
frogs, 148-9.
fruit, 82.
Fulani, 4, 19, 28, 199 ff., 208, 329, 330.
— vocabulary, reference to, 226, 229.
‘gabaga’, 215.
Gadabuni, 44, 98, 145.
‘gadager’, 93.
Gagiduna, 300.
Galadima, 262, 263, 312.
galago, 116.
Gambalarou, 372.
Gambaru, 247, 248.
game reserve, 125.
Gamerghu, 183, 331.
Garbai, _vid._ Shehu Garbai.
Gaserregomo (Birni), 16, 18, 20, 61, 248, 251 ff.
Gashagar, 279.
Gaskeru, 330.
Gaurang, 231, 294.
‘gawo’, 87.
gazelle, 123, 352.
geckoes, 146.
Geidam, 195, 258, 305, 312.
Gentil, 34, 37.
geology, 222, 226, 227, 229.
Gerra, 285.
Gessi, 29, 283.
Ghadames, 300.
Ghasr Eggomo, _vid._ Gaserregomo.
giraffe, 122.
girgam, 231.
Girouard, 159.
Glencoe, 340.
goats, 166, 213, 231, 377.
Gober, 259.
Goma, 60.
Gombe, 291, 299.
Gongola, River, 41, 217, 382.
Goni Mukhtar, 251.
goose, 143.
Gorko, 260.
gourd, 112.
grass, prickly, 92.
Greig, 360 ff., 366.
Gribingi, 78.
Groom, 301.
ground-nut, 108, 212.
ground-pig, 121.
Guilleux, 228.
guinea-fowl, 139, 167.
guinea-worm, 75, 165.
Gujba, 37, 45, 139, 195, 313, 329, 383.
Gulfei, 182, 184, 268, 287, 290.
gum-arabic, 87, 217, 226, 229.
Gummel, 261.
Gumsigine, 270.
gun-men, _vid._ Rabeh’s gun-men; cf. also fire-arms.
gun-powder, 180.
Gusumalla, 313, 331.
gutta-percha, _vid._ caoutchouc.
Gwani, 382.
Hadeija, 261, 264, 265.
— River, 61.
Hadjer el Hamis, 45, 311.
— Teous, 45, 311.
‘hadjlidj’, 86, 88.
hair-dressing, 174, 198, 200.
Haj Beshir, 268 ff.
Haji Mahomet, 303.
Hamet Ismael, 246.
hammer-head, 142.
Hanafi, 208.
hare, 121, 147.
harmattan, 69, 233.
Harris, 303.
hartebeeste, 123.
Hartmann, 333.
Hausa, etymology of, 313.
Hausas, 3-5, 194-5, 321; Kanuri name for, 310.
_Hausa Stories and Riddles_, 303.
Hausa vocabulary, reference to, 226, 229.
hawk, 133.
hay, 192.
Hayatu, _vid._ Mallam Hayatu.
Hejira, 323.
henna, 110, 248
Hermann, 225.
heron, 142.
Hewby, 6, 38.
_Hibiscus esculentus_, 107.
Hillman, 21, 368 ff.; travelling name, 345.
Himyaritic king, 14.
hippopotamus, 127.
honey-guide, 130.
hoopoe, 144.
hornbill, 131.
horses, 166, 178, 190, 213, 227.
Horton, 359, _et passim_.
human sacrifice, 229.
Hume, 14.
huts, 175 ff., 190, 193, 198.
hydraulic contrivances, 134, 178.
hyena, 119, 120.
Hyksos, 246.
Ibi, 382-3.
ibis, 141.
Ibn Batuta, 17, 223.
— Chaldun, 15, 223.
— Said, 13, 15.
Ibrahim, King of Bornu, 22.
— son of Yakubu of Bauchi, 302-3.
ichneumon, 120.
Idris, _vid._ Edriss.
Idjege, 66.
Iman Ahmed, 17.
impaling, 269.
India, 246.
indigo, 110.
_Ipomoea_, 95.
Isga, 206.
Islam, 14, 111, 171, 186, 200, 208, 209.
Issege, 37, 44, 61, 98, 228, 319.
It, 383.
ivory, 216.
Ja’alin, 282, 284.
jackal, 118.
Jacob, 365.
Jacoba, _vid._ Bauchi.
Jamare, 287, 292, 299, 300.
Java, 226.
Jellaba, 282, 286, 297.
jigger, 109, 160.
Joalland, 35, 228.
Johnston, 169.
Joucla, 224.
Jungarie, _vid._ Chungary.
Kaba, 314, 316.
Kabela, 253, 256, 318.
Kachella, 181, 196, 205, 259, 303, 314.
— Abdullahi, 273.
— Ali Marghi, 273.
Kachellari, 263.
Kadera, 276.
Kaderiya, 209.
Kagaburi, 276, 314.
Kaiuri, 314, 326.
‘kalgo’, 88.
Kaloma, 316.
Kalua, 384.
Kameruns, 202, 220.
Kandira, Guma, 247.
Kanem, 14, 16, 17, 314, 382; etymology of, 334.
Kanembu, 174, 182, 253, 254, 256, 314, 326.
— infantry, 372.
Kano, 17, 218, 229, 232, 260, 292, 300, 302, 314.
Kanumbu (Lamino), 302.
Kanuri, characteristics of, 5, 18, 169 ff.
— commercial instincts of, 17, 180, 214.
— etymology of, 314, 335.
— military spirit of, 19, 181.
— origin of, 168 ff., 326.
— woman, 171.
— vocabulary, reference to, 222, 229.
‘karage̥’, 87.
Karaguaro, 305, 314.
Karnak (Logone), 79, 182, 184, 287, 290.
Kasa, 318.
Kasr Kumo, _vid._ Gaserregomo.
Kassim, 275.
Katagum, 20, 21, 41, 253, 261, 291, 299.
— River, 61.
‘Katakirri’, 93.
Katsena, 259, 300.
Kauwa, 125, 188.
‘kayo’, 83.
Kazaure, 300.
Kel Etti, 330.
Kerrikerri, 194, 332.
_Khaya_, 101.
Kiari, son of Shehu Bukar, 275-6; _vid._ Shehu Kiari.
‘Kige̥’, 86.
‘Kighir’, 86.
Kilba, 382.
Kindin, _vid._ Tuareg.
kingfisher, 131.
kite, 134, 186, 187, 226, 233.
Koelle’s MSS., 228.
Kofa, 41.
‘kogana’, 16, 181.
Koiyams, 252, 329 ff.
‘Kokenawa’, 16, 181.
kola, 101.
Koreishites, 333.
Kosso, 263.
Kotoko, 23, 121, 183, 185, 250.
Kubri, 259, 326.
Kufa, 247.
Kuka, foundation of, 20, 290; sacked by Bagirmi, 257; rebuilt, 259;
destruction by Rabeh, 31, 288; abandoned by Rabeh, 289; attempt to
rebuild, 383.
kuka-tree, 98.
Kukawa, _vid._ Kuka.
Kullumfardo, 264, 329, 331.
Kumm, 224, 228.
Kund, 57, 99, 117, 125, 213.
Kung, 126.
Kuno, 35.
Kuri oxen, 166.
Kuri tribe, cf. Buddumas.
‘kurna’, 82, 83.
Kusseri, 36, 39, 56, 158, 182, 184, 226, 273-4, 290.
Kusseri, battle of, in 1846, 266.
Kwalme Shuwas, 328, 334; _vid._ Shuwas.
La Chard, 193.
Lage-Matia, 57.
Lagos, 25, 84.
Laho-Matia, 57.
Lamino, 19 ff., 27, 229, 250 ff., 301 ff., 316, 331, 344, 373.
— presents to, 374 ff.
— seal of, 257.
— sons, 374.
Lamino (friend of Shehu Bukar), 275.
Lamy, 35, 36, 232.
Lander, 342.
Landeroin, 6, 186, 208, 233, 239, 250, 251, 331.
Lane, 324.
‘lapsur’, 108.
lark, 144.
Larymore, 337.
Lau, 101.
Lauture, 333.
leather-working, 179, 217.
Legari, 275.
Lenfant, 23, 59, 70.
Leo Africanus, 17, 181.
_Léon Blot_, 34.
leopard, 116, 118.
lepidoptera, 234 ff.
leprosy, 75.
Liberated Africans, 339.
lilies, 96.
Liman, 275.
— Bergoma, 261.
lion, 117.
lip-disks, 189.
Lippert, 280, 300.
‘litham’, 195.
Livingstone, 232.
lizard, 146.
locusts, 132, 161.
Logone, River, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 216, 274.
— town, _vid._ Karnak.
Loko, 159.
‘loranthus’, 89.
lotus, 96.
‘lowan’, 330.
Lugard, 37, 223, 229.
Lukach, 339.
Lumburem, 278.
lynx, 118.
Lyon, 229, 371.
Maberly, 366.
Machena, 261.
Mackenzie, 340, 379.
Maclean, 363.
Macleod, 5, 36, 250, 311.
Madagali, 65.
Maduari, 23, 72.
‘magalia’, 83.
Magira, 171, 304.
Magiram, 171.
Maguié, 252.
Magumeri, 315, 384.
Magumis, 326, 332.
Mahdi, 29, 281, 285.
Maher, 338.
Mahmud, son of Rabeh, 36; _vid._ Niebe.
mahogany, 101.
Mai Ahmed (Amadu), 251.
— Ali, 251, 267.
— Arri ben Haj Umar, 329.
— Dunama, 251, 253, 255.
— Ibram, 257, 265.
Maiduguri, 20, 38, 195, 384; etymology of, 315.
Maifoni, 20, 38, 384; etymology of, 316; connexion with Marghi, 316.
Maina Gumsumi, 326.
maize, 107, 185.
Makari, 183.
malaria, 73, 158.
Malawa, 261.
Malematari, 206.
Maliki sect, 209, 333.
Malla Kerim, 30, 274-5, 298.
Mallam Ali (Zaki), 252-3.
— Hayatu, 287, 290, 292-3, 297, 299, 300.
Mallam Kashim, 239.
— Mustapha, 301.
— Shetima Kinguimi, 262.
— Zakaria, 324.
mallow, 107.
Malta, 21, 359 ff., 366.
manatee, 128.
Mandara country, 31, 41, 44, 45, 56, 58, 61, 104, 157, 182, 193, 290,
298, 304.
— King of, and Rabeh, 298, 300.
— tribe, 183, 185.
— vocabulary, reference to, 222.
Manga, 127, 194, 263, 331.
manure, 191.
Mao, 25, 247, 308.
marabou, 142.
marabout, 364.
Marghi, 17, 41, 192 ff., 225, 332; connexion with Maifoni and list of
kings, 316.
Margi, _vid._ Marghi.
Margoliouth, 208.
Marguba, 327, 382.
markets, 180.
Marquardsen, 47, 52, 59.
Marseilles, 345.
Masa, 183, 331.
‘massakwa’, 106, 210, 317.
Massari, 26, 229.
Massawa, 63.
Masseña, _vid._ Massenya.
Massenya, 260, 287, 294.
Matteucci, 26, 230, 334.
‘mbarma’, 318.
Mbulu, 60.
McCarthy-Morrogh, 38, 227.
McClintock, 37, 38, 239, 309, 312, 313, 383.
McIntosh, 26, 289.
McLeay, 307.
M‘Diarmid, 229, 340.
Mecca, 18, 227, 246, 252.
Mecklenburg, 7, 230.
Mele Gumsumi, 316.
Melra, 365.
Mendif, 45.
Merrick, 310, 313, 332.
Mestrema, 274-5, 382.
meteorology, 63 ff., 222, 226, 305.
Meynier, 35.
mice, 147.
Michell, 322.
millepede, 162.
millet, 105, 310.
mimosa, 78.
Minarem, 267.
Minargué, 267.
Mineral Survey, 227.
Miria, 252.
Misau, 273, 291, 299.
missionaries, 209, 210, 211.
Mobbers, 332.
Mochore, 191.
Mohammedanism, _vid._ Islam.
Mohammedan sects, 208, 209.
Mohammed Beshir al-Ghati, 282.
— Sherif, 290.
— Tar, 278.
Moharrem, 323-4.
Moiser, 307.
‘mokaddem’, 330.
Moll, 225, 227, 230.
molluscs, 163-4.
Moman Machena, 37.
Mongonu, 195, 197, 318, 327, 384.
mongoose, 120.
monitor, 145.
monkeys, 114 ff.
Monteil, 25, 28, 170, 178, 223.
months, 323.
Mora, 186.
Morland, 38, 383.
mosquito, 74, 158.
moths, 157, 234 ff.
Mourzouk, _vid._ Murzuk.
Mubi, 37.
Mugelbu, 382.
mules, 166.
Mulgue, 276.
Munio, 43, 55, 94, 119, 194, 259, 261, 293.
Muri, 211.
Murmur, 21, 337.
Murray, 379.
Murzuk, 203, 214, 355, 369.
Musgu country, 41, 57, 58, 99, 110, 160, 181, 205-6, 210, 269, 272.
— tribe, 183, 188 ff.
Musgum, 191.
music, 173.
Mustapha Mutube, 269.
Mutube, 61.
Mutue, 383.
Nachtigal, 12, 13, 25, 64, 350, _et passim_.
Nachtigal’s cook, 25.
Nafada, 140, 217.
natron, 44, 54, 55, 86, 180.
Nelson, 230, 336 ff.
Ngadda, 60.
Ngala, 21, 22, 256, 278, 365, 382.
‘ngalio’, 175, 188.
‘ngaljam’, 57, 58.
Ngamagué, 278.
Ngellewa, 298.
Ngigmi, 48.
Ngizim, 194, 250, 272.
Ngornu, 84, 111, 188, 227, 253, 256.
— battle of, 20, 47.
Ngua, 60.
Nguéléroma, 239, 251, 253, 258.
Ngunse, 318, 331.
Ngurkum, 274.
Nguru, 252, 261, 263, 265, 318.
Ngurutua, 23.
Niebe, 36, 382, 383.
Niger Co., 26, 140, 217, 289.
— water, 367.
night-jar, 132.
Nile, _vid._ Chad.
Njime, 247, 335.
‘Nokena’, 15, 16.
‘nonon giwa’, 91.
Norris, 231; cf. Pott.
Nupe, 330.
Nyamnyam, 286.
Omar, _vid._ Shehu Omar.
Omar Sanda, _vid._ Shehu Omar Sanda.
onions, 107.
orchids, 77.
— ground, 104.
oriole, 138, 144.
‘oschar’, 83.
ostrich, 139-40, 167, 226.
— eggs, 175.
— feathers, 140, 216, 217.
Oswald, 159,
Othman dan Fodio, 251, 281, 287, 292.
otter, 121.
Oudney, 21, 336 ff.; relations with Denham, 343 ff.; travelling name,
345.
Overweg, 12, 23, 332, 370.
owl, 135.
oxen, 165, 178, 199, 211, 376.
ox-pecker, 137.
Pagenstecher, 219-20.
palm, date, 85.
— deleb, 98, 133.
— dum, 84.
— raphia, 77.
Palmer, 231, 239, 329.
Pan-islam, 209.
parrots, 129.
‘Parsees, African’, 194.
Passarge, 111, 194, 204, 207.
Pavel, 38.
paw-paw, 77, 97, 109.
Pearce, 368.
pelican, 143.
_Pennisetum dichotomum_, 92.
— _penicillaria_, 105.
pepper, 109.
Perrin, 342, 385.
Perron, 232.
Petermann, 24.
Phrygian cap, 199.
piassava, 77.
pigeon, 138, 167.
_Pistia stratiotes_, 96, 100.
plough, 211.
plover, 140-1.
pomegranate, 109.
porcupine, 121.
potatoes, 107, 227.
Pott, 231.
presents to Shehu, 373.
Prins, 34.
pumpkin, 108.
Puss, 192.
_Quarterly Review_, 231.
Rabah, 280; _vid._ Rabeh.
Rabeh, 26, 29 ff., 169, 181, 186, 205, 277 ff., 331.
Rabeh’s death, 36.
— gown, 33, 174.
— gun-men, 31, 32, 278, 279.
— mark, 32, 293.
railway, 212, 213, 218, 221.
rain, 72; rainfall, 307.
Ramadan, 325.
‘raphia’, 77.
rats, 121.
‘rattal’, 214, 215.
razzias, _vid._ slave-raids.
Reffell, 339.
_rehaina_, 91.
Resener, 300.
Residents, position of, 207.
‘retam’, 85, 86, 167.
rhinoceros, 57, 126.
rhyolite, 45.
rice, 106.
Richardson, 22, 381.
Robinson, 313.
rock-partridge, 139.
Rohlfs, 12, 25, 47, 111, 127, 143, 155, 161, 170, 173, 199, 203, 216,
218, 228, 381.
roller, 132.
Royal Military College, 339, 350.
‘rottl’, _vid._ ‘rattal’.
Rouse, 380.
Sachau, 280.
‘Sahara Mission’, 35.
salamander, 149.
Salamé, 209.
salt, 81, 86, 180, 194.
_Salvadora persica_, 85.
Samory, 281.
Sandaram, 330.
sand-grouse, 139.
sandstone, 45.
sappers, 24.
Sara, 260.
‘Sarikin Mussulmi’, 209.
Saus, _vid._ Sos.
Schultze, 7.
scorpion, 162.
Seaforth, 340, 379.
seeds, 373.
Sef, 14, 247; Sefua, 14, 22, 246 ff., 335; cf. Tubbas.
Seibu Aisami, 247.
Seledeba, 44.
Selleri, 265.
Senegal, 19.
Senussi, 30, 208, 333.
Senussiya, 285.
serval, 118.
sesame, 108, 212.
Seyorum, 52.
Shari, 30, 32, 33, 48, 55, 57, 58, 59.
shea-butter, 80, 102.
sheep, 166, 213, 231, 377.
— disease, 166.
Shegorama, 125.
Shehu Abdurrahman (Durman), 27, 267, 268 ff.
— Ashimi, 28, 30, 188, 277-8, 288, 298.
— Bukar (Abubakr), 28, 270, 271 ff.
— Garbai, 37, 38, 382, 383.
— Ibrahim, 28, 277, 303.
— Kiari, 30, 275, 278-9, 288-9, 298.
— Omar, 22 ff., 170, 250, 265 ff., 292.
— — doubts as to birth of, 267.
— — Sanda (Sanda Kura), 31, 35, 37.
— Sanda of German Bornu, 32, 38, 171, 181.
— Umar, _vid._ Shehu Omar.
Shehuri, 20, 34, 384.
Shehus, genealogical table of, 239, 288, 305.
Sheikh, the, i.e. Lamino, _q.v._
Sheikh Abdullahi of Koiyam, 329.
— Mohammed ibn Umar, 232.
— Umar of Koiyam, 330.
shells, 163.
Shetima, 275.
Shetima Allah Rhama, 262.
Shira, 291, 299.
shrike, 137.
Shuwa Arabs, 149, 182, 196 ff., 319, 326 ff., 333.
Siemens, 3.
Sierra Morena, 44.
— Nevada, 79.
silk-cotton tree, 97.
Simkins, 365.
‘sittatunga’, 123.
skunk, 121.
Slatin Pasha, 29, 285.
slave-raids, 23, 26, 171, 189, 193, 203, 205.
slave-reservoir, 26.
slavery, 204, 301.
slave-trade, 203, 216, 293.
sleeping sickness, 159.
snails, 164.
snakes, 142, 146 ff.
snipe, 140-1.
Sokoto, 19, 33, 199, 209, 232, 272, 342.
Solingen, 214.
‘sorghum’, 105.
Sos, 16, 247, 248 ff., 314, 326.
sparrows, 135.
spiders, 162.
St. John, Bayle, 19, 232.
St. Martin, 333.
starlings, 137.
Stambul, _vid._ Constantinople.
Steiermark, 214.
Stephani, 329.
_Sterculia acuminata_, _vid._ kola.
— _tomentosa_, 101.
Stewart, 362.
Stieber, 68, 190.
stork, 141-2, 144.
strangulation, 271.
Struck, 224, 233.
Sufi mallam, 264.
Sugurti, 259, 267, 326.
Suleiman, son of Zobeir, 28, 282-3, 285.
sun-birds, 138.
Surrikulo, 97.
Sururu, 34.
swallows, 137.
Sympkins, _vid._ Simkins.
Syria, 246.
Tagari, 276.
tails, men with, 226.
Talba, 275.
‘talha’, 87.
tamarind, 90.
Tanamari, 300.
‘tata’, 36.
tattooing, 174, 226.
Tchad, _vid._ Chad.
Teda, _vid._ Tubu.
temperature, 63 ff.
Tenimu, 268.
‘terminalia’, 101.
termites, 155, 160-1, 227.
tern, 143.
thermometrical table, 67; observations, 306.
throwing-knives, _vid._ ‘ngalio’.
Tibbu, _vid._ Tubu.
Tibesti, 51, 285.
ticks, 163.
Tijani, _vid._ Tojani.
Tilho, 6, 54, 233, 251, 308.
Timbuctoo vocabulary, reference to, 222.
tobacco, 110, 191, 208.
tobe, 33.
Togbao, 35.
Tojani, 208, 333.
tomato, 108.
Toole, 21, 354, 355 ff.; travelling name, 345.
tornadoes, 66, 70.
Tou, 247.
Tremearne, 313, 329.
tribal marks, 226.
Trieste, 215.
Tripoli, 18, 22, 25, 174, 189, 203, 214, 289, 293.
— British consul at, 21, 225.
— War, 217, 218.
trypanosomiasis, 74.
tsetse, 159.
Tshendam, 211.
Tuareg, 19, 28, 41, 62, 118, 195-6, 218, 330.
Tubba Lowel, 246.
Tubbas, 246 ff., 275, 329.
Tubu, 14, 15, 195.
— vocabulary, reference to, 229.
Tully, 387.
Tumbi dan Hawa, 261 ff.
‘tumfafia’, 83.
‘tundub’, 85.
Tunis, 15, 293.
turtle, 144-5.
Tyrwhitt, 21, 352, 355 ff., 369, 375; travelling name, 345.
Uba, 45, 104, 157.
Uele, 286.
Uje, 316, 319, 327.
Ulugo, 54, 60, 91, 116, 136, 146.
vaccination, 364.
Valpreda, 25.
vegetables, 373.
venereal disease, 75, 89.
Vischer, 239, 346.
Vogel, 12, 24, 181, 203, 225, 231, 233.
Volkens, 76.
Vollers, 4.
vulture, 134.
Wacha, 252.
Wadai, 22, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 232, 266, 286, 294, 297, 333.
wagtail, 135, 144.
Wahhabism, 208.
Wandala, _vid._ Mandara tribe.
Wara, 290, 311.
Wari, 263.
Warrington, 232, 345, _et passim_; Warrington and Tyrwhitt, 357.
— Walter Bornow, 364.
wart-hog, 127.
Wasa, 43, 45.
wasp, 155.
‘wassili’, _vid._ Arabs, Tripoli.
water-buck, 123.
weaver-birds, 135-6.
weaving, 179.
wells, 178, 332.
wheat, 107.
wheat-ear, 144.
Wilmot, 345, _et passim_.
winds, 50, 53, 68 ff., 307.
Windsor, 140, 380.
witchcraft, 184.
Wobe, _vid._ Yo, River.
wood-pecker, 133.
worms, guinea, 75, 165; intestinal, 75, 142, 165; earth, 164.
wryneck, 144.
Wudi, 47.
Wuliya, 192.
Wupti, 139.
Wurno, 292.
Yadza, 319.
Yakubu of Bauchi, 260, 301-2.
Yale, 264.
Yamia, 62, 255.
Yarima, _vid._ Yerima.
Yedina, _vid._ Budduma.
Yedseram, River, 37, 60, 88, 183, 206, 331; etymology of, 319.
Yemen, 246, 329, 332.
Yerima, etymology of, 319.
— Bukar, afterwards Shehu Bukar, _q.v._
— Umar, afterwards Shehu Umar, _q.v._
Yeriwa, 20, 384.
Yiroma, 274-5.
Yo, River, 16, 19, 47, 61 ff., 194, 195, 229, 279, 332, 367.
— town of, 256, 332.
Zagarari, 265.
Zaria, 300.
Zigaba, 331.
Zigagué, 266.
Zimmermann, 206.
Zinder, 23, 28, 33, 35, 41, 43, 77, 98, 167, 194, 227, 267, 268, 278,
282, 285, 292, 300-1.
‘zizyphus’, 83.
Zobehr, _vid._ Zobeir.
Zobeir, 28, 29, 297.
zodiacal lights, 70.
zoology, 222; cf. Fauna, Chapter VI.
Zouïla, 252.
OXFORD: HORACE HART
PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY
[Illustration: BORNU UND SEINE GRENZGEBIETE Entworfen und gezeichnet
von Arnold Schultze.
Beigabe zu Dr. Arnold Schultze, Das Sultanat Bornu mit besonderer
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in Essen.)]
[Illustration: Übersichts-Skizze zur Geschichte Bornus von Dr. Arn.
Schultze.
Beigabe zu Dr. Arnold Schultze, Das Sultanat Bornu mit besonderer
Berücksichtigung von Deutsch-Bornu. (G. D. Baedeker, Verlagshandlung
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