318 
TRAVELS m AFRICA. 
Chap. LXII. 
crossed a swamp and left a larger sheet of water on 
our left, we reached a miserable hamlet called Deshi, 
belonging still to the district of Ksene (which com- 
prises Filiyo), and consisting of several groups of 
half-decayed clay dwellings inhabited by poor Son- 
ghay people, who appeared to be greatly oppressed. 
It was with some difficulty that we here obtained 
quarters ; and we had the misfortune of falling into a 
dispute with the landlord, on account of the many 
dogs which beset his house, and would not cede their 
place to us. This was a certain proof that the natives 
were not far advanced in Islam, as the Mohammedans 
in general are averse to the company of this unclean 
animal, and the Fiilbe very rarely make use of dogs 
even for watching their numerous herds of cattle. 
Most of these dogs were of black colour, and almost 
all the fowls were of black and white colour. I here 
also observed that the native women carried the 
water in a pair of buckets slung across the shoulder, 
as I had remarked already in other Songhay places ; 
but here, also, they did not wear nose-rings. 
The country around was well cultivated, and pro- 
duced especially sorghum ; but the harvest of the 
preceding year had not been a favourable one, as was 
the case almost all over the country, so that dearth 
was prevailing. 
We here met with a party of native traders from 
Hombori, with oxen laden with salt, who gave us 
some useful information with regard to the road be- 
fore us. It had been a point of great dispute with 
