THE BAGIRIMI 147 



were converging on the stubborn conqueror, the one 

 from Senegal, the other from Algiers under Com- 

 mandant Lamy. Two of the invading armies joined, 

 and with renewed confidence Gauaronga once more 

 led the Bagirimi against the dreaded foe. A seer 

 had foretold that Babeh's hour was at hand, and 

 the rumour spread amongst the people. Daunted by 

 the approaching force of enemies, and perhaps in- 

 fluenced also by these general forebodings, Kabeh 

 renounced resistance for a time and retreated down 

 the river. In April 1900 the invading armies over- 

 took him at Kusseri, where the prophecy was fulfilled : 

 the battle was bloody but decisive, Rabeh's forces 

 were annihilated, and the fate of the king himself 

 was long in doubt. Commandant Lamy, anxious if 

 possible to see his famous opponent yet alive, wandered 

 amono^ the wounded askiuo' each man if he were the 

 king. He had put the question many times In vain, 

 when at last in answer a great figure sprang from 

 the ground, and, with a cry of " I am Babeh," drove 

 a dagger through the Frenchman's heart. The other 

 officers immediately avenged their chief; the van- 

 quished king, pierced with a dozen swords, fell lifeless 

 at the feet of his dead conqueror. 



In recognition of his alliance and services through- 

 out the war, the French gave to Gauaronga the full 

 rights of an independent sovereign, though, for in- 

 ternational reasons, they induced him to resign that 

 part of his kingdom that lay in German territory. 

 For some years he was allowed full liberty of action, 

 but it was found that he used it to j^rosecute an 

 immense traffic in slaves : some 5000 of these wretches 

 would be carried each year from the neighbouring 



