THE JOURNEY OF THE BOATS TO YO 173 



looks little more than a dirty village surrounded by a thorn 

 fence that shuts out a dusty country, devoid of any grass. 

 On rising ground to the south of the town there is a really 

 excellent house, built by the Kachella for the use of the 

 white man. The Kachella of Yo is a Kotoko, named 

 Kakami, the son of a chief under Kiari, the Kanuri sultan, 

 who was father of the present Shehu of Bornu, and whose 

 story will be told in a later chapter. Kakami 's father was 

 slain in the battle where Rabeh took the Kiari prisoner. 

 His son, whom we shall shortly meet at Yo, was made 

 Kachella by the Shehu, as being the only man strong 

 enough to stand up against the Tubus who are for ever 

 raiding across the border. He is allowed to keep part of 

 the spoil that he takes from the enemy, and while I was at 

 Yo I saw six camels and a number of ponies that told of his 

 success in a recent fight. He is a powerful man, about 

 thirty-five years of age, but his adventurous life makes him 

 look much older. With simple tastes and possessing few 

 wives, he is always ready at the call of duty. He is a splendid 

 fighter and leader of men and has been hit more than once 

 by poisoned arrows. Great admiration for, and loyalty to, 

 us are very strong traits in his character. In fine, he is by 

 far the best native chief I have ever met in Africa, and his 

 strength and courage, modesty and gentleness, his loyalty, 

 and lastly the deeds in which all these qualities have shown, 

 make him worthy to live in our memory as a hero. 



Gosling spent a week this time at Yo, getting all the 

 trade goods and stores checked and put in order. He also 

 did a good deal of hunting, and his notes record meetings 

 with a varied lot of game, including Senegal hartebeest, the 



