356 FROM THE NIGER TO THE NILE 



Lowan of Kowa. The latter acknowledged his wrong and 

 gave up the money, which I handed over to the Kachella, 

 telling him to give it to the British Resident. My action, 

 however, was not appreciated by the Resident, but I am 

 pleased to think that my report was instrumental in clearing 

 the Government of extortion in the eyes of the natives, for 

 I afterwards learned from the Lowan himself, that he was 

 heavily fined for his crime by the Resident, and he offered 

 me all the cattle I wanted if I would get him off. 



At Gashagar I shot some specimens of the cow-bird, the 

 first I had seen. It is a brown bird with an orange beak, 

 tipped with bright red. It is allied to our starlings, and, 

 like them, feeds off the maggots in the backs of sheep or 

 cattle. 



We came upon a caravan of Kanuri at the first well 

 on the road to Maifoni. They had five little ostriches 

 about three weeks old, which they had taken from Tubus. 

 I bought the birds from them for some cloth, but alas ! only 

 two lived to reach camp at Kaddai, and they, too, came soon 

 afterwards to a tragic end. 



When we arrived at Maifoni, I went to the Assistant Resi- 

 dent and obtained his permission to get the King of Maifoni 

 to send round his people and raise fifty oxen for me. I 

 promised the king a sword, similar to the one I had given 

 the Shehu, on the successful completion of the loan. The 

 king went round his big men in person, and Jose, who accom- 

 panied him, had cause once or twice to observe transactions 

 that were suspiciously like extortion. However, the drivers 

 came in with their oxen to the number of fifty, and took up 

 their quarters close to the spot where I was camping, near 



