Chap. LX. ADVICE TO TRAVELLERS.— HOLIDAY. 279 
great deal of trouble that, by means of the cotton 
strips with which we had provided ourselves, we 
obtained a small supply of butter and corn, four dra 
being reckoned here the same as in Gando, while in 
the town of Say there was thirty per cent profit 
upon the cotton strips. The most abundant article 
I found here was milk, which was the best I had 
ever yet tasted in Negroland : and it gave me a fair 
but rather exaggerated idea of what I might ex- 
pect to find amongst the Fiilbe further west. We 
also bought a small quantity of corn from the 
women, in exchange for some looking-glasses and 
cloves. All the corn here consists of sorghum ; and 
seventy shells, at the time, would just buy sufficient 
corn for a horse for one day, which is a very high 
price indeed for Negroland. 
Notwithstanding the poor character of the place, 
I was obliged to stay here two whole days, exclusive 
of the day of my arrival, in order to give the camels 
some rest, as they were suffering greatly from the 
effects of the rainy season, and on account of the 
holiday of the " fotr," which fell on the 8th. If 
I had known the character of the province of Lib- 
tako better, I should have deemed it prudent to make 
even a longer stay here : and I would advise any 
future traveller to do so, taking care, however, to 
have a sufficient supply of shells with him, which 
will enable him to make himself quite comfortable in 
Yagha. 
Music having announced the arrival of the important 
T 4 
