488 General Notes. [May, 
Lokodja is governed bya prince named by the king of Nupé, him- 
self a satrap of the Sultan of Sokotto. Rabba the capital of Nupé, 
„has 70,000 inhabitants. Above Egga the river becomes shallow, 
and vessels drawing more than four or five feet cannot proceed to 
Rabba. The constant falling in of the western bank renders navi- 
gation of the Lower Nile difficult. French commercial companies 
no longer exist on the Lower Niger. The Upper Niger is domi- 
nated by three powerful chiefs. The “prophet” Samory, a sort 
of religiously fanatic slave-hunter, who burns his unmerchantable 
prisoners, occupies the upper portion. Below him is Amradon, 
chief of a better organized state, with an army of Tonconleur 
cavalry and Bambarra infantry, and lastly, between Sansandig and 
Timbuctoo, comes Tidiani, who, with his bands of brigands, cuts 
off the communications of the latter once flourishing city. 
Timbuctoo has for over 200 years been ruled by a “ kahia,” a 
kind of burgomaster originally appointed by the Emperor of 
Morocco from the Moorish Andalusian family of Er-Rami. The 
office became hereditary, but the present kahia or Amir Muham- 
med Er-Rami, who is now in Paris, has little power, and is prac- 
tically a puppet in the hands of whichever of the rival Arab, 
rber or Fulah factions have the upper hand. The Arab chief, 
Sheikh Abadin, sides with the Fulahs or Fulani, whose power is 
continually increasing, and who are likely to become absolute 
masters of Timbuctoo unless it falls into the hands of some Euro- 
pean power. 
Harrar.—The province of Harrar proper lies in a circle around - 
the city of that name, and has a population, according to Major 
F. M. Hunter, of nearly 329,000. The city of Harrar is fortified 
so as to be fairly defensible against native attack, and contains an 
area of 200 acres, and a population of about 30,000, two-thirds of 
whom are women, and only about one-third natives of the city. 
The suburbs contain 6000 more. Harrar is regarded by Professor 
Keane as an outlier of Abyssinian civilization, and perhaps is a 
remnant of the ancient kingdom of Adela or Ada, once a power- 
ful enemy of Abyssinia. At any rate it has for centuries preserved 
within its walls a distinct race, speaking a tongue not understood 
by its neighbors, and has been the center of trade for the sur- 
rounding countries, dispatching caravans to Tajura, Zeila, and 
Berbera. The city has some 4500 domiciles. Major Hunter gives 
some details of the material condition, dress, domestic ceremonies, 
etc., of the women, and refers to the account given by Burton in 
“ First Footsteps in East Africa.” Debased Egyptian piastres and 
Maria Theresa dollars are the only currency, and the only indus- 
. tries are bookbinding and weaving. The principal indigenous ex- 
o> ‘ports are coffee,and wars or safflower. Harrar is 286 miles from 
~ Berbera, and 18234 from Zeila. 
_ _ Asia.—Asiatie Notes, Etc—Four French officers, who have 
journeyed among the Muongs of the Black river of Tonquin, de- 
