130 
TRAVELS IK AFRICA. 
Chap. LVI. 
me the compliments of the governor, who was a man 
of rather noble birth, being nobody else but e Ali 
K a rami, the eldest son and presumed successor of 
'Aliyu the emir el Mumenm. He bears the pompous 
title of serM-n-G6ber, " lord of Gober," although 
almost the whole of that country is in the hands of 
the enemy. Having taken his leave, the messenger 
soon returned accompanied by Alhattu, the younger 
brother of the ghaladima of Sokoto, who was anxious 
to show his importance, bringing me a fat sheep as 
a present, which I acknowledged by the gift of a fine 
helali berniis, besides a red cap and turban ; and the 
governor expressed his satisfaction at my present by 
sending me also corn for my horses, and half a dozen 
fowls. In the even in £ we had a short but violent 
tornado, which usually indicates the approach of the 
rainy season ; but no rain fell, and we passed the night 
very comfortably in our open encampment, without 
any accident. 
Thursday, We had a very difficult day's march be- 
March 3ist. f ore ug ^ — ^ e passage of the wilderness of 
Gundumi, — which can only be traversed by a forced 
march, and which, even upon a man of Captain 
Clapperton's energies, had left the impression of the 
most wearisome journey he had ever performed in 
his life. But before returning into our westerly 
direction, we had first to follow a north-westerly 
path leading to a large pond or tebki, in order to 
provide ourselves with water for the journey. It was 
still a good- sized sheet of water, though torn up and 
