Northern Nigeria 



cloth, we induced a man to volunteer to canoe us 

 down next morning. 



At 5 a.m. we were up, but no Nupe appeared, 

 so, going into the town, we roused the head-man, 

 and got him to show us our valiant guide's 

 house. He was not at home. His heart had 

 failed him, and he had fled to the bush. At the 

 critical moment, however, some Yoruba hunters 

 turned up. They had a canoe, and had actually 

 been on the island a day or two before, and 

 said they had wounded, but not secured, a buffalo. 

 We at last got off with them, and paddling 

 quickly down stream soon reached the island. 

 We found it shaped like the figure 8; probably 

 two islands when the river was higher, but now 

 connected by a bit of swamp covered with high 

 reeds some fifteen yards across. The larger 

 island was about half a mile long by four hundred 

 to five hundred yards at its widest point. At 

 its far end the river was shallow between it 

 and the mainland, and tracks showed the buffalo 

 had used this as a ford. Both islands were 

 covered with very high, dry grass. We paddled 

 round and found buffalo spoor everywhere quite 

 fresh, on the larger island; no tracks on the 

 smaller one. 



Our plan of campaign was as follows : One 

 of us to watch the ford on to the mainland; 

 one, the swamp connecting the islands; and the 



223 



