134 FROM THE NIGER TO THE NILE 



hit. Next day, after leaving subtense flags there, we passed 

 through Ndivva again, where I found that the three biggest 

 of the nine sheep left in charge of the ex-king had been stolen. 

 As he was responsible for them, he was told to recover them 

 at once. We then continued our march for three or four 

 miles to a hill to the north, where the rest of the day was 

 spent in trying to find a suitable place for observation, and 

 also in a fruitless endeavour to pick up the points of 

 the subtense flags, placed near Ndivva that morning, but 

 which it turned out had been removed by the natives directly 

 after my back was turned. This hill, like many of the others 

 around, was one mass of iron- ore, which was evidently much 

 worked. Some smelting- works were to be seen below the 

 hill, but there was unfortunately no time to visit them. 



That evening at the little village of Abila near by, a visit 

 was paid me by an imposing cavalcade of Kanuri. Their leader 

 introduced himself as the Kachella Bukar Kago, the repre- 

 sentative of the Shehu or Sultan of Bornu in this part of his 

 dominions. They had come towards this quarter of the 

 country to collect taxes, but had not cared to venture among 

 the Marragi until they heard that a white man was there. 

 The Shehu is in the habit of farming out the taxes of certain 

 parts of his dominions to some of his principal chiefs, who 

 collect what they can and pay him a certain percentage. 

 The Marragi had refused to pay taxes for several years now 

 and even to let a Kanuri go among them. The Kachella 

 rode a black horse with gay trappings, and the two together 

 made a splendid picture. The horsemen who attended 

 him were also very imposing. Their horses wore an arrow- 

 proof head-dress, which in the sun looked as if made of plates 



