236 FEOM THE NIGER TO THE NILE 



whole population appears contented with their well-occupied 

 existence. 



Away from the right bank, in French territory, dwell an 

 interesting bush people, called Bou-Bou. Occasionally on 

 our way up the river we had seen a Bou-Bou mixing in the 

 crowd of a village, having come down from his country to do 

 a little buying or to see the people and sights of the riverside, 

 actuated by much the same impulse that takes us to spend a 

 day by the sea. But this was the first opportunity we had 

 had of seeing one of their villages. There was one three 

 miles from Mobbai, and we attended its market which, as 

 usual, was held some little distance from the village. It was 

 situated in a pretty valley in an undulating treeless country 

 smothered in tall grassand here and there dotted with 

 little villages. As early as nine o'clock all the people had 

 come in and the place was buzzing busily. There were quite 

 five hundred people, standing, sitting, bargaining or gossiping, 

 and we spent some time watching the picturesque sight from 

 a rough sun-shelter. The scene reminded one of the Yo 

 market, for the Bou-Bous were all armed with long spears 

 and shields. Placed on the ground for barter or sale was beer 

 made out of maize, and maniocs, red millet, beniseed, ground- 

 nuts, sweet potatoes, tobacco and salt-ashes. Living as they 

 do in an almost treeless country the Bou-Bous have not 

 sufficient wood to complete the process of extracting salt. 



Under a shed close at hand we noticed some very re- 

 markable goats, bred by the Bou-Bous, which I feel sure 

 cannot be known in Europe. They are about 2 ft. 6 in. 

 in height and have fine silky black-and-white coats, with 

 wonderful tufts of hair on the tops of their heads. 



