scenery. The densely luxuriant groves seemed to be the abode only of the feathered tribe, birds of numberless variety playing and warbling about in the full enjoyment of their liberty; while the 'serdi,' a large bird, with beautiful plumage of a light blue color, especially attracted my attention. Now and then a herd of cattle was seen dispersed over the rich pasture-grounds, all of white color, and the bulls provided with a large fat hump, or 'tozo,' hanging down on one side. But in this delightful spectacle objects of de struction also were not wanting, the poisonous plant tumnia' starting forth everywhere."-Vol. i, p. 482.

Of the state of affairs two days later he thus writes:

"Early the next morning we started with an enthusiastic impulse, in order to reach before night the celebrated emporium of Central Negroland. Kanò, indeed, is a name which excites enthusiasm in every traveler in these regions, from whatever quarter he may come, but principally if he arrives from the north. We thus started in the twilight, passing in the bush some herds of cattle remaining out in the pasture-grounds, and meeting several troops of travelers, which made us fancy the capital to be nearer than it really was. We listened to the tales of our comely and cheerful companion, the "babà-n-bàwa," of Tàgelel, who detailed to us the wonders of this African London, Birmingham, and Manchester-the vastness of the town, the palace and retinue of the gov ernor, the immense multitudes assembled every day in its marketplace, the splendor and richness of the merchandise exposed there for sale, the various delicacies of the table, the beauty and gracefulness of the ladies. At times my fiery Tunisian mulatto shouted out from mere anticipation of the pleasures which awaited him.” —Vol. i, pp. 485, 486.

In following the traveler through such a country the reader is constantly tempted to wish it was not necessary to have anything to do with the people, so vexatious are all dealings with them, and especially so entirely capable of dispelling the pleasant frames of mind begotten by communings with nature. Notwithstanding their barbaric civilization, the people of this region are still only barbarians, and of course the social image presented contrasts most painfully with the beauties and bounties of nature. Kanò, however, did not belie the praises that had been lavished upon it, either as to its extent and population, or the amount of its trade and manufactures. The permanent population was estimated at thirty-five thousand to forty thousand souls, and that of the province at half a million. The people manufacture silk, cotton, and leather goods from the raw materials, both for home consumption and for expor

tation. They also deal largely in slaves, but rather as buyers than sellers; for though they are extensive slaveholders, they are not slave-breeders, and marriage of slaves is not encouraged. They are acquainted with the use of the metals, but they have but little of any kind; and though gold is in some sense the standard of value, yet they use shells, "kurdi,"-cowries-as their circulating medium. Islamism is their prevailing form of faith, though many remains of paganism are still obvious; and it would seem that with the Kanawa (people of Kanò) the characteristic fanaticism of Mussulmans has died out, and given place to a kind of liberal indifference.

After a week's stay at Kanò Dr. Barth set out for Kukawa, the capital of Bornu proper, lying nearly due east, at a distance of more than three hundred miles, not far from the western border of Lake Tsad, where the members of the expedition were appointed to rendezvous. His journey, which covered just a month, was a quiet and almost solitary ramble through an open and peaceful frontier, and among a simple rural population, who uniformly treated him with kindness and hospitality. Before reaching his destination he heard of the death of Mr. Richardson, who had fallen a victim to disease only a short time before, while on his route to Kukawa. The account of Dr. Barth's entrance into this chief capital of Negroland, and his reception by the sheik, or governor, together with his efforts to properly care for Mr. Richardson's property, which had been sent on to the capital, and was now faithfully delivered to his successor, make up the closing chapter of the first volume. Established in the center of the great African empire of Bornu, our traveler pauses in his narrative to favor his readers with a condensed account of the people and the history of that renowned country, all of which we must pass over. A visit to the border of the lake proved it to be, as he had supposed, simply a valley in the great plain, overgrown with reeds, and cut up with creeks and lagunes. Further examination fully satisfied him that the lake is made by the surplus water of the immense basin that surrounds it, and that it has no effluent. Meantime Mr. Overweg had arrived, and preparations were made for a journey to Adamàwa, which lies far to the south, on the borders of the great unexplored pagan kingdoms, beyond the eastern branch of the Kwara. Besides the general pur

poses of exploration, it was a special object of interest to determine the disputed question of the rise of that river, the Bénu-wé, which has been supposed to be an effluent of the Tsad, and is so laid down upon some maps, but as to the truth of which Dr. Barth was decidedly skeptical. As they advanced southward the negro-pagan elements became more marked, and the Arab-moslem steadily diminished. This is indeed the real frontier between these two forms of civilization, (if that term may apply to African barbarism,) which divide between them the whole of Africa, and here at least Islamism is still winning its way by the sword.

After many day's journey across the level country of the great valley, the travelers came into a more elevated region, with scattered mountain, peaks and ranges, and at length, at about the ninth parallel of north latitude, the sought-for river was discovered, just where the main current, flowing from the east, receives a considerable affluent from the south. The writer remarks:

"The principal river, the Bénu-wé, flowed here from east to west in a broad and majestic course, through an entirely open country, from which only here and there detached mountains started forth. The banks on one side rose twenty-five, and in some places thirty feet, while just opposite to my station, behind a pointed headland of sand, the Fáro rushed forth, appearing from this point not much inferior to the principal river, and coming in a fine sweep from the south-east, where it disappeared in the plain, but was traced by me in thought upward to the steep eastern foot of the Alantika. The river below the junction, keeping the direction of the principal branch, but making a slight bend to the north, ran along the northern foot of Mount Bagele, and was there lost to the eye, but was followed in thought through the mountainous region of the Báchama and Zina, to Hummaruwa, and thence along the industrious country Korórofa, till it joined the great western river, the Kwara, or Niger, and, conjointly with it, ran toward the great ocean."-Vol. ii, pp. 166, 167.

That he was correct in supposing this river to be no other than the eastern branch of the Kwara, or Niger, which was explored in its lower portion by one of the Niger expeditions, will hardly admit of a doubt; and as at this point it was considerably higher than the level of the lake, the notion that it flows out of it is forever exploded. The rivers Serbenel and Schiri, both considerable affluents of the Tsad, rise in the same elevated region from which the Bénu-wé seems to proceed,

proving most incontestably that the last-named river can have no connection with the lake.

The country of Adamawa is a recent conquest made by the Fulbe-the people of Sokoto, of whom we will speak in another place and was then governed by the "Sultan," Mohammed Lawl, or Lowel, who, like all his nation, was a somewhat fanatical Mussulman, quite unlike those of Bornu. Yola, the capital, is situated on the south side of the Bénu-wé, and is described as a "large open place, consisting, with few exceptions, of conical huts, surrounded with spacious court-yards, and even by corn-fields." The arrival was on Friday, the Moslem Sabbath, and by ill luck the usual salute announcing their arrival was given just as the governor was proceeding to the mosque to say his mid-day prayer. He soon returned, however, and received his guest respectfully; but the formal audience two days later did not result auspiciously. The traveler had come with a letter of commendation from the governor of Kukawa, whose seeming interference with the affairs of Adamawa, which owed allegiance to Sokoto, was not well received, especially as it was suspected that he entertained some pretensions to the sovereignty of that country. Thus innocently entangled in the diplomacy of these hostile chiefs, he found it impossible to proceed further, and so was compelled to return to Kukawa.

After the return to the capital of Bornu, and a month's delay, an excursion along the north side of the lake into the country of the Kanem was next undertaken. Here they found fields of cotton, millet, and wheat, while the lake afforded a plentiful variety of fish. Like the western side, this shore of the lake was fringed by a broad belt of reedy marshes; and the country, though highly fertile, was wild and uncultivated, on account of the incursions of bands of freebooters. A striking evidence of this wildness was met with in the shape of a herd of ninety-six wild elephants, moving in a phalanx across the country-going to drink and bathe in the lagunes. At length a portion of the robber horde of Wilàd Slimàn was fallen in with; and having propitiated the sheik with a present, the travelers proceeded with the band, among whom they were safe so long as the victory was with the robbers. The occurrence was valuable as affording an insight into the modes of life of these marauders, who have desolated the whole district

of Kanem. The picture of robber-life presented in the story of this excursion is anything but inviting, and the travelers were evidently not displeased at their forced return, without accomplishing all they had hoped for when they set out.

Having thus had some experience of genuine robber-life, Dr. Barth soon afterward had an opportunity to observe another phase of African affairs. Returning to the capital he found that the sheik had gone out with his entire disposable military force toward the south of the lake, ostensibly to chastise the vassal sheik of Màndarà into obedience, but really on a slave hunt. Horribly detestable as was the purpose of this expedition, it afforded a highly valuable opportunity not only to examine the country, but also and especially to witness, and so to determine the true character of a kind of expedition of the horrors of which we have often heard, but only from remote and uncertain authorities.

Our space will not allow us to follow this expedition, nor to describe its warlike appointments and terrible devastations. The reality of slave-hunting, as witnessed by European eyes, did not, indeed, fall short in its horrors of the most highlywrought images presented by impassioned orators. The invading army swept over the country of the defenseless Musgu people, burning their towns, destroying their plantations, and remorselessly murdering the native men wherever found. The result of the expedition was, however, not very encouraging to those who made it. An army of twenty thousand men, the flower of Bornu, returned from a campaign of several hundred miles with a booty of ten thousand cattle and about three thousand slaves, many of them decrepid old women, of no value to their captors, while the whole number of grown-up men taken did not exceed three hundred. But the ruin and desolation caused among the quiet and unoffending natives presented a much more formidable array of results. Dr. Barth frequently remonstrated with the sheik and his vizier against this horrid trade of butchery, and they readily assented to his objections, but pleaded their necessity, since it was only in exchange for slaves that they could obtain firearms. It is the foreign slave-trade that gives life to the African slave hunts.

An important geographical question engaged Dr. Barth's attention during this excursion. The region of country