Chap. LIII. WALL OF GESMA.— SILK-COTTON TREE. 39 
tants, clad in nothing but a leather apron, were busy 
carrying clay from the adjacent swamp, in order to 
repair the wall, which, however, on the west side, was 
in excellent condition. 
Close to this town I observed the first rimi, or silk- 
cotton tree, which in B6rnu Proper is entirely want- 
ing ; and as we proceeded through the fine open 
country, numerous species of trees which are pe- 
culiar to Hausa became visible, and seemed to greet 
me as old acquaintances. I was heartily glad that 
I had left the monotonous plains of Bornu once 
more behind me, and had reached the more favoured 
and diversified districts of this fine country. Small 
channels intersected the country in every direction ; 
and immense fishing-baskets were lving in some of 
them, apparently in order to catch the fish which, 
during the period of the inundation, are carried 
down by the river. But the great humidity of this 
district made it swarm with ants, whose immense and 
thickly-scattered hills, together with the dum bush, 
filled out the intermediate spaces between the larger 
specimens of the vegetable kingdom. 
Having then crossed a tract of denser forest, we 
entered upon deep sandy soil, where the kuka became 
the sole tree, excluding almost every other kind, with 
the exception of a few tamarinds, for whose company, 
as I have observed, the monkey-bread tree seems to 
have a decided predilection. 
Thus we reached Donari, formerly a considerable 
place of the Manga, and surrounded with a low 
jy 4 
