A TKEK THROUGH BOENU 241 



the Kanuri struck us as a dull people with little 

 initiative. 



The town of Kaua, as apart from the market, was 

 our destination for that evening, and we were told 

 that it was not much beyond a 2|- hours' march ; but 

 it proved to be 17 miles distant, and the road was so 

 thick with sand that the carriers did not straggle in 

 till 11 P.M., though they had started about 3. 



The track is broad, and leads on and on in dreary 

 straightness through a desert country, the level of 

 which is only broken by asclepias. Their juicy grey- 

 green leaves conform to the general monotony of tint, 

 which is accentuated here and there by the brighter 

 brown of burnt grass. By Government regulation no 

 men may hunt here, for a vast sanctuary has been 

 made for the protection of big game, and especially of 

 elephant. Herds of Senegal hartebeeste, antelope, 

 and gazelle gazed at us from the side of the road, as 

 if conscious of their security. 



Presently we passed a big trading caravan, carrying 

 potash from the Baga to sell at other markets, which 

 succeed each other at the distance of a day's march 

 right along the road. The sun was setting and each 

 moment we expected to reach our destination, so 

 when I heard loud cries and laughter, I hopefully 

 remarked to my companions that women's voices must 

 mean the neighbourhood of some town. They cor- 

 rected me at once, — it was the laugh of a hyena I had 

 heard. 



Mimosa and other low-tangled growth preluded our 

 approach to a bahr and bigger trees, but we had 

 still some miles to go, and when at last we rode into 

 Kaua we were famished and exhausted. The chop 



Q 



