DANAGLA IN SLAVE- YOKES. 385 



geissus groves surrounded the village, and swamps of Turtur 

 albiventris fluttered about among the huts, apparently fill- 

 ing the place usually occupied by the Turtur semitorquatios. 

 Falango, a celebrated tippler, appears to exact prompt obedi- 

 ence from his people, for the porters we requested were at 

 once forthcoming, and he insisted upon accompanying us him- 

 self to our next night's quarters. 



The next stretch of country was covered with boulders, and 

 there were many small peaks. Tobacco (Nicotiana Virginiana) 

 is extensively cultivated in this district, and used, as elsewhere, 

 for smoking, whereas the N. rustica, with the yellow flowers, is 

 mostly chewed. A row of lofty mountains running from south 

 to north was visible from the top of a flat gneiss slab on the 

 hill of Asala. I took compass bearings of the peaks, but was 

 not able to obtain their names, for the mountains lie in the 

 Abukaya country, and the Abaka who were with me do not 

 travel. Corn and tobacco, sesame and mrisa, exist in their 

 own country, and they obtain their clothes from the dibbi-tree ; 

 Justus Perthes's Institute is unknown — why, then, should they 

 travel ? 



The swamps on our road were very frequent, and generally 

 knee-deep, — sticky, muddy beds, having nice-sounding names, 

 but being very unpleasant realities. We saw the red-headed 

 dwarf parrot {Agapomis pidlaria) in swarms, twittering in the 

 durrah and eleusine fields. Notwithstanding the great beauty 

 of this bird, it is much disliked by the inhabitants on account 

 of its destructiveness. We passed Chief Buningulu's new 

 zeriba, Ambereko, situated upon a high hill, the flanks of 

 which were covered by durrah-fields. A well-cultivated plain 

 stretched out on all sides, except in the east, where the 

 Abukaya mountains formed an apparently continuous wall. 

 The march from here to the station of Gosa was short but 

 noteworthy, for an incident occurred showing very clearly the 

 present condition of this country. Two Danagla from the 

 Bahr-el-Ghazal had recently come to Ndirfi, but, disturbed by 

 my presence in the neighbourhood, had endeavoured to cross 

 the frontier at night with five or six slaves. The Negroes 

 living here had, however, defeated them, and put them in slave- 

 yokes (sheba), in order to lead them to me. It is certainly a 



2 B 



