certain number of slaves. Boo Khaloom had expected 4 Two my structed nakedness in semen through ed on reaching my feelings will haloom, with about of Fellatas, whom people who carried ched their ears had not ned, me from Kouka, this man am I indebted me to mount behind him, thee were 'On the 25th April, the Sheik's troops, the 2000 horse of the sultan of Mandara, with hir Musfeia, the capital of the Fellatas. Our roa sive valleys, thickly planted with trees, and be tiful hills, the sides of which presented her huts, and the height of which sometimes ex the 28th, soon after daylight, we approac having marched nearly the whole nig quickly burnt, and passing on we ca between two low hills, with a dry wad latas had mustered their forces, had car stakes from one hill to the other, were behind, and covered by the huts. strong and well chosen. The Arab Boo Khaloom at their head; and showers of arrows (some poisone them from behind the palisades, an hour and, pushing on, drove hills. A few of the Bournou and pierced through and thr the fire of the Arabs had of near the stakes. Had even troops or those of the Sheil carried the town, for the men at the utmost; but th wadey, out of reach of th very houses, and got pos myself, and about forty them. Seeing the back an attack in their turn; standing against them. Gana had two horses! the arrows being pois his death wound by a him in the foot. and in his near hind passed, merely brin I ms of an Arab to state, sut, that, after riding forty-five of Mandara in a most deplorable duly succeeded in borrowing a *** 1980 and his wounds were killed, and nearly all of speedily healed. In Boo Ar von eight or ten days. The Arabs had De Sheik, on his return, received him with the English have lost a staunch friend and an but we confess that, as far as our little skill in those and be fears they may feel the want of his influence. 110 15 20ÓW US to judge, this honest adviser met with no Sa desert; and his death was but a poor atonement for ed an attack on the lives and property of a people who, by that extraordinary man Burckhardt is almost always the Fellata, he says, 'They fight with poisoned arrows; the A NOTARINI Lgst the natives. This antidote is prepared from a small towers the body to swell, and is infallibly mortal, unless counteracted Barge and Baghermi, Kodongo, which is dried and reduced to powder. of Borgo go to war, they are furnished with a small box of this living and most of the Arabs had been send fourteen or fifteen hundred or, could not, by any possibiuse for such unwarrantable and ak, much as we admire the enim, that he acted a very prudent Boo Khaloon's marauding expediy against the wishes of the Sheik, to have approved of Boo Khaloom's se friendship he was rather desirous of sed, however, to extract all the good we pedition, by admitting that it has been the gressive step in the geography of Northern e from Kouka to the Fellata villages in the or informs us, is about 230 miles, nearly south, e of latitude, which would make the latitude of out 9° 30'. Assuming the longitude to be the Mourzouk, (14° 10) it will be seen, by inspecting he was not more than about 300 miles from old hat Captain Adams was unwittingly right in saying at least the nearest, way to the Niger, or its waters, cross the country from that quarter. ed near me with five sticking in id the Mandara and Br they one and all took the manner possible; and an on a fresh borse, bl being badly provide is were from pess however there was not much time e a confed fring to that wood with order and the Major was absent on his grazzie, another important African geography was made by Dr. Oudney and Lieuteapperton. With the consent of the Sheik they set out on cursion to examine the river Shary which, by proceeding erly, they found at the distance of 90 miles from Kouka. It noble stream, nearly a mile broad, flowing gently at the rate of out a mile an hour, and containing a great number of flat islands. flows from the southward, and is supposed to have its origin in the chain of granite mountains mentioned by Major Denham. They traced its stream to the northward, till it emptied itself by five or six mouths into the lake Tsaad; directly in the face of the report which they had gleaned from all quarters, that this river flowed out of the lake! Our travellers had never had the lake fairly open to them before; for it is so studded near its banks with islands, and the country is so perfectly flat, that there is no seeing beyond them; but here it presented a noble sheet of water, extending north, north-east, and east, farther than the eye could reach. Some of the islands in the Tsaad are inhabited by a people called Buddooma, who carry off, on rafts, not only cattle which they find grazing near the shore, but frequently women and children; yet the Sheik has no canoes, nor any means of punishing these marauders. John Hillman, the carpenter, had made himself very useful in fabricating sofas and palanquins for the Sheik, and had become of course a favourite; the greatest service he could per form as my legs would carry me, for the thickest part of the wood. Two of them followed me, and I ran on towards the east, knowing that our stragglers would be in that direction, but still almost as much afraid of friends as foes. A deep mountain-stream obstructed my passage, which, by swimming a few strokes, I quickly got over, and then felt myself quite safe from my pursuers. My feelings at this moment, what could I do in the helpless state of nakedness in which I was, cannot be described. I now saw horsemen through the trees still farther to the east, and I determined on reaching them if possible, whether friends or enemies-and my feelings will readily be imagined, when I discovered Boo Khaloom, with about six Arabs, and Barca Gana pressed by a party of Fellatas, whom they had halted to drive back, being the only people who carried guns. 'My voice however would never have reached their ears had not Maranny, the Sheik's negro, who accompanied me from Kouka, seen and known me at a distance, and to this man am I indebted for my life. He rode up to me, assisted me to mount behind him, while the arrows whistled over our heads, and he then galloped off to the rear as fast as his wounded horse could carry him. Boo Khaloom now rode up to me, and desired one of the Arabs to cover me with a bornouse; these were the last words I heard him speak, and we had scarcely proceeded ten miles, when Maranny exclaimed, "Look! look! Boo Khaloom is dead!" I turned my head round, almost as great an exertion as I was capable of making, and saw him fall into the arms of an Arab.'* The Major then proceeds to state, that, after riding forty-five miles, he reached the territories of Mandara in a most deplorable condition, and with some difficulty succeeded in borrowing a shirt, which had been worn eight or ten days. The Arabs had lost every thing; forty-five of them were killed, and nearly all of them wounded. The Sheik, on his return, received him with the greatest kindness; and his wounds were speedily healed. In Boo Khaloom, he says, the English have lost a staunch friend and an honest adviser, and he fears they may feel the want of his influence. It may be so; but we confess that, as far as our little skill in those matters will allow us to judge, this honest adviser met with no more than his desert; and his death was but a poor atonement for so unprovoked an attack on the lives and property of a people who, The information obtained by that extraordinary man Burckhardt is almost always correct. Speaking of the Fellata, he says, They fight with poisoned arrows; the smallest scratch causes the body to swell, and is infallibly mortal, unless counteracted by an antidote known amongst the natives. This antidote is prepared from a small worm, called at Borgo and Baghermi, Kodongo, which is dried and reduced to powder. Whenever the soldiers of Borgo go to war, they are furnished with a small box of this powder.' living peaceably at the distance of fourteen or fifteen hundred miles from the abode of the aggressor, could not, by any possibility, have given him the slightest cause for such unwarrantable and brutal hostility. Nor can we think, much as we admire the enterprizing spirit of Major Denham, that he acted a very prudent part in giving countenance to Boo Khaloon's marauding expedition; his going too was entirely against the wishes of the Sheik, who appears by no means to have approved of Boo Khaloom's attacking the Fellatas, whose friendship he was rather desirous of cultivating. We are disposed, however, to extract all the good we can from this ill-fated expedition, by admitting that it has been the means of gaining a progressive step in the geography of Northern Africa. The distance from Kouka to the Fellata villages in the mountains, the Major informs us, is about 230 miles, nearly south, or 3° 20′ difference of latitude, which would make the latitude of these villages about 9° 30'. Assuming the longitude to be the same as that of Mourzouk, (14° 10′) it will be seen, by inspecting the charts, that he was not more than about 300 miles from old Calabar; so that Captain Adams was unwittingly right in saying that the best, at least the nearest, way to the Niger, or its waters, would be across the country from that quarter. It While the Major was absent on his grazzie, another important step in African geography was made by Dr. Oudney and Lieutenant Clapperton. With the consent of the Sheik they set out on an excursion to examine the river Shary which, by proceeding southerly, they found at the distance of 90 miles from Kouka. is a noble stream, nearly a mile broad, flowing gently at the rate of about a mile an hour, and containing a great number of flat islands. It flows from the southward, and is supposed to have its origin in the chain of granite mountains mentioned by Major Denham. They traced its stream to the northward, till it emptied itself by five or six mouths into the lake Tsaad; directly in the face of the report which they had gleaned from all quarters, that this river flowed out of the lake! Our travellers had never had the lake fairly open to them before; for it is so studded near its banks with islands, and the country is so perfectly flat, that there is no seeing beyond them; but here it presented a noble sheet of water, extending north, north-east, and east, farther than the eye could reach. Some of the islands in the Tsaad are inhabited by a people called Buddooma, who carry off, on rafts, not only cattle which they find grazing near the shore, but frequently women and children; yet the Sheik has no canoes, nor any means of punishing these marauders. John Hillman, the carpenter, had made himself very useful in fabricating sofas and palanquins for the Sheik, and had become of course a favourite; the greatest service he could per form form for the natives, however, would be that of instructing them in the art of boat-building and of navigating the lake. There is no want of wood for this purpose, and their cotton would supply them with ropes and sails. We trust it will have occurred to our travellers, that the best and surest way of examining its eastern shores is by means of a boat. On this excursion to the Shary, our travellers were out twenty days, and experienced every kindness and attention on the road from the friendly inhabitants. Free as they were from restraint, and highly successful as the issue of the expedition promises to be, their labours, as we gather from their private letters, had already thrown considerable light on the geography of northern Africa, and we sincerely hope that no accident will befal them or their journals and observations. We are the more anxious on this head, from recollecting how much we suffered by the loss of Hornemann's papers. The hurried and casual correspondence of the doctor and his friend points out some of the extraordinary errors of our best charts, amounting to several hundred miles in the distances, and several points of the compass on the bearings of places. In one chart the city of Bornou is placed five hundred miles nearly out of its true position, and the whole country is laid down considerably to the eastward of Mourzouk, whilst the centre of it is directly south from that capital of Fezzan. The whole of Bornou must be of small extent, as the magnificent lake (the Tsaad) appears to Occupy the whole central part of the territory from its northern to its southern extremity. Its eastern limits, however, have not yet been ascertained. Our travellers, as we have stated, first saw this lake at Lari, which is 130 miles to the northward of Kouka, and as Kouka is said to be ninety miles to the northward of the mouth of the Shary, the lake must be at least 220 miles in that direction; and may be more, provided these two points should happen not to be its northern and southern extremities. A portion of it would appear to occupy the position assigned by Major Rennell to the swamps of Wangara; but our present travellers had no better success in hearing any thing of this name than Burckhardt, Ritchie, Lyon and others; and so little did it resemble a swamp, that in the month of April, at the end of the dry season, when not a drop of rain had in all probability fallen for six or seven months, it had all the appearance of being full and perfectly transparent. It is not stated, however, in any of the letters which we have seen, whether the water be fresh or salt, though the very omission may almost be assumed as a proof of its being fresh; a still stronger proof is that of its abounding with hip This is not to be wondered at; the frequent change of names has, more than any thing else, puzzled African geography. popotami |