573 THEOUGH ABAKA COUNTRY TO GOSA. 



12. Through the Abaka Country to Gosa. 



TOMAYA — LUXURIANT " GALLERY " WOODS — THE MPAFU-TREE — THE ABAKA 

 ■ — GREAT COLD — CHIEF ANSEA — ATROCITIES OF THE DANAGLA — NATIVE 

 SELF-HELP — THE BABUKUR — GOSA— COTTON-WEAVERS. 



After leaving Kabayendi, we wandered through a very hilly 

 country, in which many gneiss peaks were to be seen, to the 

 pretty little village of Mindi, where, from the top of a high 

 hill, I obtained a good view over the rows of the Abukaya 

 mountains, which lay to the north. The chief of the village 

 was an intelligent fellow, so that I was able to obtain from 

 him the real names of the mountains, the Nyam-Nyam generally 

 being accustomed to give the name of the nearest chief as 

 that of the mountain (for instance, Mbia Maloguma, the moun- 

 tain of Maloguma). Large stretches of land, over which the 

 road then led, were lying fallow, for the people only culti- 

 vate the land for a couple of years at a time. I noticed again 

 here huge boulders, at the foot of one of which Khor Horo 

 flowed, hidden between thick masses of reeds. This Jchor forms 

 the boundary between the Makraka and the Abaka, who, it 

 appears, are not always good friends. An almost treeless flat, 

 overgrown with fine grass, extends from the foot of the hill of 

 Badia to Khor Asa, a clear mountain stream, which forms at 

 the ford a small waterfall. Its water, for a wonder, did not 

 contain iron, so that, after the mineral waters we had had to 

 drink for some days, it was very refreshing. The small station 

 of Tomaya, so named after the chief of the surrounding Abaka, 

 lay at a few minutes' distance uphill. 



It may be well to mention here, that since Dr. Junker 

 travelled in this district, nearly all the chiefs and villages 

 which he mentions have changed their positions, with the 

 exception, of course, of such places as Wandi, Kabayendi, Eimo, 

 and Ndirfi, which have become permanent Government stations. 



The scenery around Tomaya is diversified ; rocks, wood, 

 meadows (if I may use this expression in Africa), and flowing 

 waters fringed by bush, make the place a rich storehouse for 

 the collector. I found here many species of birds for the first 



