142 FEOM THE NIGER TO THE NILE 



were there to make the region seem familiar. But the river 

 itself is quite different from the Yo, having sloping banks 

 and no back-waters. There were many semicircular dams 

 for catching fish, made of branches interlaced with thorn 

 and brushwood. At a village on the way to Afate, the 

 old king was delighted with a box of matches in return for 

 his present of eggs. He had never seen such things before. 



At Afate one of the drivers brought in a little grey monkey, 

 which was christened " Birri," the Hausa for monkey, and 

 which threw in its lot with the Expedition, coming through 

 safely to the end. It is now at the Zoological Gardens. 



On February 20 Gosling proceeded to Mulwe by a long, 

 dull march through open thorn-bush and stretches of black 

 soil where cotton grew plentifully. On the way he saw a 

 number of gazelle that were very tame, also large flocks of 

 guinea-fowl. Mulwe is a ruined town on the left bank of the 

 River Godago, which flows between very steep banks. On 

 February 21, following up the stream some way till it dis- 

 appeared mysteriously in the dense bush where there was 

 much pig and guinea-fowl. Gosling unexpectedly came on the 

 Shari. He was 30 ft. above it, and describes it as a truly 

 refreshing sight and a magnificent river. 



In the evening he arrived at his journey's end at Kusseri, 

 where he had a most hospitable welcome. First the king's son, 

 a smart youth in a white turban, came to meet him ; then 

 the king with his armed retainers and a band, and finally 

 the German Commandant, Captain Stieber, on a good pony 

 and looking very smart in his white uniform. Gosling goes 

 on to describe his treatment by the Germans as exceedingly 

 kind ; they gave him two good rooms inside their post as 



