252 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
Chap. LX. 
through which our march lay was hilly, and at times 
presented very pleasant vales, or glens, but in general 
it was destitute of trees, and was only insufficiently 
inhabited and cultivated. The view which pre- 
sented itself to us of the country before us, when, 
after a march of about three miles and a half, we 
reached the highest point, was that of an extensive 
wilderness, the few cultivated spots being entirely 
hidden in the midst of the forest. Red sandstone 
was apparently the chief component of this hilly 
country, with occasionally a black tint, received from 
exposure to the air, and rich in oxide of iron — in 
fact, of the same geological feature as the border 
country between Kebbi and Gober. Short herbage 
was springing up here and there, aifording but scanty 
food to the cattle that were grazing hereabouts. 
A steep rocky declivity brought us from the 
higher level, which was covered with small stones, 
into a deep valley. But we had soon to ascend again, 
traversing a district which belonged to the village 
of Ndobura and bore some signs of cultivation ; and 
a dell, which we passed a little further on, was 
extremely picturesque. But the country hereabouts 
does not in general seem to be very fertile, and, be- 
sides, the exceptional drought of the present year 
had destroyed a large proportion of the crops; and 
it was this very unproductiveness that had induced 
the chief to leave his former place of residence, Shirgu, 
which lay a little more to the east, and to found a 
new dwelling-place further west. 
