114 



FROM THE NIGER TO THE NILE 



sheep and goats, though nothing Uke the number they had 

 before the devastations of Rabeh and Faderellah. Formerly 

 they were great breeders of camels, but these animals do not 

 do well in the Shari regions. Their oxen are of heavier 



KANEM OX 



build and have shorter horns than the Fulani and Kanuri 

 breeds. In their fields they grow crops of indigo, millet, 

 maize, rice and beans. Like their kin, the Shuas, they are 

 a wandering people, shifting their abodes as the land becomes 

 worked out or the pastures fail. 



The men are tall and many have the Semitic type. Their 

 heads are shaven and they wear the blue bernouse, or " tobi," 

 of Bornu. The young boys and girls go about entirely 

 naked. Each village is ruled by a sheik. 



On May 30 we arrived at the large Kotoko town of 

 Gulfei, which is situated on the left bank. The river was now 

 at its lowest and had left in front of the town a large sand- 



