clapperton's second journey. 181 



All the merchants halted for some time at Koolfii, and those 

 from Bomou seldom went farther. The market was 

 crowded with the same articles as that of Kano. The 

 Moslem religion was the most prevalent ; but it had not 

 yet moulded society into the usual gloomy monotony ; nor 

 had it succeeded in secluding or subjecting the female sex, 

 who, on the contrary, were the most active agents in every 

 mercantile transaction. Our tra*veller knew twenty-one 

 female brokers living at the same time in one house, who 

 went about continually from market to market. Many had 

 amassed considerable wealth, and were persons of great 

 consequence, — quite in their own right. Elated with this 

 distinction, they claimed considerable latitude as to their 

 deportment, and spent whole nights with the men in sing- 

 ing and drinking, — a species of indulgence very prevalent 

 in all these entrepots of African trade. The English, how- 

 ever, experienced here none of the bigoted enmity which 

 they had encountered in other Moslem cities. On the con- 

 trary, they were the objects of much kindness ; the prin- 

 cipal people of the place sent presents, and the lower ranks 

 sought to obtain a sight of them by mounting the trees 

 which overlooked their residence. The Koran does not 

 seem to have much embarrassed the Koolfuans. Their 

 only mode of studying it was, to have the characters written 

 with a black substance on a piece of board, then to wash 

 them off, and drink the water ; and when asked by our tra- 

 veller what spiritual benefit could be derived from the mere 

 swallowing of dirty water, they indignantly retorted, — 

 " What ! do you call the name of God dirty water ?" This 

 mode of imbibing sacred truth is indeed extensively pur- 

 sued throughout the interior of the African continent. 



Captain Clapperton passed next through Kotongkora 

 and Guari, two states which, united in a league with Cubbi 

 and Youri, had shaken off the yoke of the Fellatas. Guari, 

 strongly situated among hills, could bring a thousand horse 

 into the field. He then entered Zeg-zeg, a Fellata country, 

 which, especially around Zaria, its capital, seems to be one 

 of the very finest in all Africa. It was beautifully varie- 

 gated with hill and dale, like the finest parts of England, 

 was covered with plentiflil crops and rich pastures, and pro- 

 duced the finest rice grown in any part of that continent. 

 Rows of taU trees, resembling gigantic avenues of poplar, 



