KANO DAGGER AND SCABBARD.

thing but disagreeable in the country they were then in. A new and important vegetation was hourly disclosing itself, the whole land had a most interesting and cheerful appearance, villages and corn-field succeeding each other, with only short intervals of thick underwood, which contributed to give richer variety to the landscape; numerous herds of fine cat

tle, and long troops of men carrying on their heads baskets filled with the fruit of the goreba (cucifera, or hyphaene thebaica), commonly called the gingerbread-tree, also gave animation to the scenery. Nor was the reception met with in the villages less inviting.

Scarcely had Barth's people made themselves comfortable, when their appetite was excited by a various assortment of the delicacies of the country, clamorously offered for sale by crowds of women from the village. The whole evening a discordant chime was rung upon the words

"nono" (sour milk), "may" (butter), "dodowa" (the vegetable paste above mentioned); "kuka" (the young leaves of the Adansonia, which are used for making an infusion with which meat or the "tuwo" is eaten), and "yaru da daria." The last of these names, indeed, is one which characterizes and illustrates the cheerful disposition of the Hausa people; for the literal meaning of it is, "the laughing boy," or "the boy to laugh," while it signifies the sweet ground-nut, which, if roasted, is, indeed, one of the greatest delicacies of the country.

CORN-STACK.

The little territory of Tasawa might, indeed, constitute a very

NEGRO STIRRUP.

happy state, if the inhabitants were left in quiet, but unluckily they are, like the rest of Sudan, or Negroland, continually harassed by predatory expeditions.

Tasawa (Barth says) was the first large place of Negroland Proper which he had seen, and it made the most cheerful impression upon him, as manifesting everywhere the unmistakable marks of the comfortable, pleasant sort of life led by the natives-the courtyard fenced with a "derne" of tall reeds, excluding to a certain degree the eyes of the passer-by, without securing to the interior absolute secrecy; then near the entrance the cool shady-place of the "runfa" for ordinary business and

MOUNT TISKA.

for the reception of strangers, and the "Gida," partly consisting of reed ("daki-n-kara") of the best wickerwork, partly built of clay in its lower parts ("bongo"), while the roof consists of reeds only ("shibki"), but of whatever material it may consist, it is warm and well adapted for domestic privacy-the whole dwelling shaded with spreading trees, and enlivened with groups of children, goats, fowls, pigeons, and, where a little wealth had been accumulated, a horse or a pack-ox.

With this character of the dwellings, that of the inhabitants themselves is in entire harmony, its most constant element being a cheerful temperament, bent upon enjoying life, rather given to women, dance, and song, but without any disgusting excess. Everybody here finds his greatest happiness in a comely lass; and as soon as he makes a little profit, he adds a young wife to his elder companion in life: yet a man has rarely

more than two wives at a time. Drinking fermented liquor cannot be strictly reckoned a sin in a place where a great many of the inhabitants are pagans; but a drunken person, nevertheless, is scarcely ever seen. Those who are not Mohammedans only indulge in their "giya," made of sorglunn, just enough to make them merry and enjoy life with more light-heartedness.

Woods of dôm-palms, tamarinds, and the splendid boretree adorned the landscape between Tasawa and Gazawa, which latter town is itself situated in a thick forest. The reception here was of the usual kindly character, the little camp of the travelers was a regular market, but the restless struggle ever going on in these regions was too plainly illustrated by a troop of well-mounted horsemen going by, followed by a body of tall, slender archers, quite naked but for their leathern aprons.

A disputed territory, for the most part covered with forests, separates Gazawa from Katzena, which, like Tasawa, is the capital of a prov

HEN-HOUSE.

near

dans. A solitary colossal baobab, almost solely found some dwelling-place of man, shot out from the prickly underwood which thickly overgrew the once busy market-place of Dankama, now a deserted town. Katzena was formerly a great city, ruled by sultans, who, although always in some degree dependent on the sultans of Bornu, were still among the most wealthy and conspicuous rulers of Negroland. Its circuit is between thirteen and fourteen English miles, and if only half its immense area were ever tolerably well inhabited, must have had a population of at least 100,000 souls; but at present, when the inhabited quarter is reduced to the northwestern part, there are scarcely seven or eight

thousand people living in it.

The chief

cause of this decline was the rise of Kano, and the emigration of the merchants and traders to the latter city. Yet the town is well situated and the province is described as being one of the finest parts of Negroland, being situated just at the water-parting between the basin of the Tsad and that of the Kwara, or Quorra. Thus, at a general elevation of from 1,200 to 1,500 feet, it enjoys the advantage of being at once well watered and well drained, the chain of hills which diversify its surface sending down numerous rapid streams, so that it is less insalubrious than other regions of this continent. Its productions are also varied and rich. The rapacity of the sultan unfortunately detained Barth for some time at this fallen city, and placed him in a position of great embarrassment. His resources were, at the best, trifling-indeed, almost nominal-added to which, the whole

several troops of cravelers, which made them fancy the capital to be nearer than it really was. They listened to the tales of their comely and cheerful companion, the "baba-nbawa" of Tagelel, who detailed to them the

wonders of this Afri- THE SEGHEUM: LIP can London, Birming

ORNAMENT.

ham, and Manchester-the vastness of the town, the palace and retinue of the governor, the immense multitudes assembled every day in its market-place, the splendor and richness of the merchandise exposed there for sale, the various delicacies of the table, the beauty and gracefulness of its ladies. At times Barth's fiery Tunisian mulatto shouted out from mere anticipation of the pleasures which awaited him.

Barth's first acquaintance with the capital of Negroland was by no means agreeable. He was lodged in dark, uncomfortable quarters, was forbidden to leave till the sultan had seen him, was destitute of a single cowrie in cash, was pestered by numerous creditors, and was laughed at on account of his poverty by an insolent servant.

The population of Kano is estimated at 30,000. The principal commerce consists in native produce-namely, cotton cloth, woven and dyed in various colors.

The great advantage of Kano is, that commerce and manufactures go hand in hand, and that almost every family has its share in them. There is really something grand in this kind of industry, which spreads to the north as far as Murzuk, Ghat, and even Tripoli; to the west, not only to Timbuctoo, but in some degree even as far as the shores of the Atlantic-the very inhabitants of Arguin dressing in the cloth woven and dyed in Kano; to the east, all over Bornu, although there it comes into contact with the native industry of the country; and to the south it maintains a rivalry with the native industry of Igbira and Igbo, while towards. the southeast it invades the whole of Adamawa, and is only limited by the nakedness of the pagan sans-culottes, who do not wear clothing.

The chief articles of native industry, beside cloth, are sandals, and other leathern work. There is also a large

trade in African produce-more particularly in the quro or kola-nut-as necessary to the negro as tea or coffee to us -in natron, salt, and ivory.

seven

to

MOUNTAIN-CHAIN TING-TING.

as he is but a vassal to the sultan of Sokoto, and is also himself under a kind of ministerial council.

Although with little but difficulties in

prospect, it was, Barth says, with the same delight with which a bird springs forth from his cage, that he hastened to escape from out of the narrow, dirty mud-walls into the open country, on his way to Kukawa or Kuka. And it is a truly remarkable thing that, between the two cities of Cano and Kuka, a distance of upwards of three hundred miles, through the provinces of Gummel Khadya, Mashena, Bundi Nguru, Zurrikalo, Donari, Borzari, Manga Proper, Keleti Jetko, and Koyam, there is one continuous succession of towns and villages, with native orchards, gardens, groves, pastures, and cultivated land, with occasional forests or brushwood, and some rocky, barren, and desert

tracts.

The chief incidents that occurred on this long but interesting journey were the reception of two Spanish dollars, the balance of an account with Mr. Gagliuffi, of Murzuk, and which our trav

eler declares to have been certainly more valuable to him than so many hundreds of pounds would have been at other times; and the meeting, on the 24th of March, a richly-dressed and well-armed, but strange-looking person, accompanied by three men on horseback, likewise armed with muskets and pistols, and who informed him of the death of Mr. Richardson. Some days subsequently Barth paid a visit to the grave of the unfortunate traveler, and he found it well protected with thornbushes, and regarded by the people of the neighboring town of Ngurutuwa"the place full of hippopotami"-with reverence. This place derives its name from being near the great river, with its lakes and swamps, called Yeou by Denham and Clapperton, but Komadugu Waube by Barth, and which are the home of hippopotami, elephants, lions, monkeys, antelopes, and various other wild animals.