quite oppressive. His route lay up the slope of the country, which here from the water-shed about Katsena inclines gently eastward toward Lake Tsad, into which it is drained by the great "Komàdugu," the Yroo, or Yô river of the geographers. As is usually the case at water-partings, this elevated region is very poorly drained, and the whole country abounds in lakes, some of fresh water, and others, sometimes very near them, saturated with natron. This is truly a frontier region, as well socially and politically as in the conformation of surface, and its mixed population is made up in pretty equal proportions of the Kanuri of the east, the Tuwarek of the north, and the Fulbe or Fallata of the west. On Christmas day he reached Zinder, a sort of capital of the frontier of Bornu, where he remained more than a month, awaiting the arrival of supplies from the north, and perfecting his arrangements for his jour ney, and about the first of February (1853) he proceeded to Katsena.

On leaving this place he came fully into the country of the Fulbe, Fallata, or Pullo, (as they are variously styled,) which lies on both sides of the great river-the Niger of Europeansfrom above Timbuktu, on the borders of the desert, to as far south as Yoruba. Respecting the origin, history, and character of this most powerful of the races of Sudan, he inserts a learned and valuable disquisition, which our limits forbid us to notice. First came the territory of the ancient and once powerful kingdom of Sokoto, whose sultan or sheik he met near the frontier, called thither on a military expedition, and received from him a kind of passport, which, however, the disturbed state of the country rendered less valuable than otherwise it might have been. This country is rich in natural resources, and though but poorly cultivated, it produces abundantly the various productions of the climate, especially cotton and rice. After a rather tedious detention at Wurno, the modern capital-for Sokoto is no longer the seat of power-awaiting the return of the sultan from his only moderately successful campaign, he at length moved forward to Gando, the chief town of a powerful Pullo chief, whose dominions extended several hundred miles over the route he wished to traverse, and whose friendship it was therefore important that he should secure. This man was a religious recluse, and therefore not favorably inclined toward

his Christian visitor, but he was as fond of "presents," such as travelers always bring to African princes, as are all others of his class. Accordingly, after he had endured infinite vexation, and submitted to the most shameful exactions, the traveler was dismissed with a "letter of franchise," which he had no cause to value very highly, as the rebels held the country up to the very gates of the capital. Of the country generally the author remarks:

The kingdom or empire of Gando, according to its title, comprises a number of wealthy provinces, all lying along the great WestAfrican river which opens such an easy access into this continent, or its branches; although nobody who stays in the capital for any length of time would suppose that it holds such a prominent rank.

They are the western half of Kebbi, Maùra or Arewa, Zaberma, Dendina, a great part of Gurma, with a small portion of Borgu or Barba, a large portion of Yoruba, with the capital Alori or Ilorin, and on the east side of the river, the provinces of Yaura and Nupe or Nyffi. But at that time most of these provinces were plunged into an abyss of anarchy which could not fail to impart to the capital a more somber aspect than it may possess in general. Vol. iii, pp. 147, 148.

Leaving Gando, his route lay to the north of west, through a lowland region extensively cultivated for rice, for, unlike the Kanuri, whose county about the great lake is so well adapted to its cultivation and yet they have no rice, the Fulbe through all the river region are great rice-growers. A sixteen days' journey through a land everywhere proclaiming the bounty of heaven, alongside of the evidence of man's depravity, brought him to the object of his longing pursuit, the great river of Western Africa, here called the Isa, at the town of Say, or the "Ford," this being a noted passage of the river.

A noble unbroken stream, though here, where it has become contracted, only about 700 yards broad, hemmed in on this side by a rocky bank of from twenty to thirty feet elevation, the great river of Western Africa (whose name under whatever form it may appear; whether Dhiúlibá, Máyo, Eghirrëu, Isa, Kwára, or Báki-nrúwa, means nothing but "the river," and which, therefore, may well continue to be called the Niger) was gliding along in a N.N.E. and S.S.W. direction with a moderate current of about three miles an hour. On the flatter shore opposite a large town was spreading out, the low rampart of huts of which were picturesquely overtopped by numbers of slender dum-palms.-Vol. iii, pp. 171, 172.

Having passed over to the right bank of the river, whose course from Timbuktu to Say, forms a large arc of a circle, bearing east at the former and nearly south at the latter, (here for a little way, southwest,) he attempted to make the overland journey in a direct line, leaving the river to his right hand. Above Gando is the province of Gurma, whose people had lately suffered greatly from the incursions of the Fulbe, as formerly they did from the Songhay; but this being still within the dominions of Gando, the passport of the Sultan secured him a safe passage. Further on, he came among a still more fanatical race of Fulbe; and being assured by his fellow-traveler, El Walàti, who had joined him near Gando, that no Christian would be allowed to pass through the country, he adopted the desperate and questionable policy of feigning himself an Arab, when his companion became a kind of protector, who, having the poor pretended Moslem completely in his power, he did not fail to make him pay well for it.

Before reaching that town he had taken the precaution to send a messenger forward to inform the sheik of Timbuktu, Ahmed El Bakay, of his coming, and to place himself under that dignitary's protection. But the sheik being out of town, the message was delivered to his brother, Sidi Alawáte, (he was also let into the secret of his being a Christian,) who immediately went forth to bring the stranger into the city.

At last, after suffering untold hardships, and making innumerable hairbreadth escapes, and being thoroughly despoiled by his evil genius, the Arab, El Walàti, on the 7th of September, 1853, he entered the ancient and renowned city of Timbuktu.

The author's learned and deeply interesting discussions respecting the history and ethnology of Timbuktu, and the empire of Songhay, we are compelled to pass by unnoticed; but should any reader of this paper desire to pursue a subject so full of curious interest, we can confidently commend to him these valuable volumes. Our limits will permit us to trace the personal narrative of our traveler during his residence at this ancient capital of Sudan, and till setting out for Europe, only in the most cursory manner. The sheik Ahmed El Bakay, returned after a few days, and very soon took his strange guest into his full confidence, with whom he dealt with uniform

frankness and generosity throughout the whole of his protracted stay, and often among circumstances which fully tested the sincerity and unselfishness of his friendship. Timbuktu, though properly a Songhay town, is subject to the Fulbe, and its sheik was under the authority of the chief of HamdaAlláhi, a Pullo residing further up the river, who was fanatically hostile toward "infidels." A course of intrigues against the unfortunate traveler, ostensibly on account of his religion, but often from political causes, and oftener still from more sordid motives, was at once inaugurated, and continued during his residence there. But the sheik was true in his friendship, and though often nearly powerless, and himself in danger, yet he succeeded in enabling his guest to escape from the hands of his enemies, but not without passing through a variety of chances which seemed to render his final safety little less than miraculous. The whole story of these eventful eight months, related with proper embellishments, would form a first-rate romance, and prove once more the correctness of the maxim that truth is stranger than fiction. Dr. Barth gives it, however, with all possible coolness, and apparently without the faintest suspicion that it was anything wonderful. At last, about the middle of May, 1854, accompanied by his ever-faithful protector, the sheik El Bakay, he effected a final departure. Just previously he had received a package, bringing dispatches and news from England, which now, after some strange vicissitudes, reached him in this remote place. His route lay along the left bank of the river, which, from Timbuktu to Gogo, a distance of about two hundred miles, describes an arc whose chord lies nearly east and west. Through most of this distance its bed is rocky, and the stream is often compressed between high banks. At one point it is narrowed to only a hundred and fifty yards, and again it spreads out to a great breadth, with swampy margins. The people, though often suspicious on account of the disturbed state of the country, were generally inclined to be friendly, and to accede to the peaceful advances of the sheik. On the 20th of June they reached Gogo, the ancient political capital of Western Negroland, (as Timbuktu was its commercial emporium,) but now only a hamlet of some three hundred huts.

Cheered at having reached this spot, I passed a tranquil night, and rising early in the morning, lay down outside my tent, quietly

enjoying the prospect over this once busy locality, which, according to the unanimous statements of former writers, was the most splendid city of Negroland, though it is now the desolate abode of a small and miserable population. Just opposite to my tent, toward the south, lay the ruined massive tower, the last remains of the principal mosque of the capital, the sepulcher of the great conqueror Mohammed. Around the wide open area where we were encamped was woven a rich corona of vegetation, among which, in the clear light of the morning, I discovered different species of trees that I had long ago lost sight of, such as date palms, tamarind trees, sycamores, and even the silk-cotton tree, although the specimens of the latter plant were rather poor, and of small growth.Vol. iii, p. 480.

Having received "letters of franchise" from both the sheik El Bakay, and the deputy of the chief of the country through which he was to pass, he now prepared to bid adieu to his faithful protector.

At length-Saturday, July 8-the day dawned when I was in reality to begin my homeward journey, for all our former movements along the river had rather resembled the wanderings of the natives themselves than the direct march of a European traveler; and although I felt sincerely attached to my protector, and, under other circumstances, might still have found a great many objects worthy of my investigation and research in this region, I could not but feel greatly satisfied at being at length enabled to retrace my steps homeward with a tolerable guarantee as to my safety. It was highly gratifying to me that when I left this place a great many people wished me a hearty farewell and a prosperous journey.-Vol. iii, p. 494.

The good sheik, however, accompanied him all day, and the next morning, after solemnly charging the messengers whom he had sent with his guest to be faithful and obedient, "he gave me his blessing, and assured me that I should certainly reach home in safety.'

They now crossed to the right bank of the river, and following it, in its direction, S.S.E., for over two hundred miles, they came again to Say, the point at which the passage was made on the journey westward more than a year before. The country through which they passed presented almost every variety of river-scenery. A good deal of it was rocky, and the river-bed was much broken, and its course interrupted by rapids. In other places, and for long distances, it lay like an open sea, stretching its creeks and bays far inland, and its surface dotted with archipelagoes. As they advanced southward the popula