Chap. XXXIX. DESOLATE COUNTRY. 
47 
from Ng^gimi, indicate the site of the once cele- 
brated Wiidi. Ng^gimi was then nominally under 
the control of Kashella Hasen or Hassan. 
Plunged into sad reflections on the fate of this 
once splendid empire of Kanem, and the continued 
progress of the Berber race into the heart of Sudan, 
I hung listlessly upon my horse, when, on leaving this 
uncomfortable dwelling-place, we took our course over 
the unbroken plain, once no doubt the bottom of the 
lake, and soon to become once more a part of it. Some- 
times it was dry and barren, at others clothed with 
rich verdure, while on our left it was bordered by 
a range of sand-hills, the natural limit of the lagoon. 
At a little before noon we came to a deep inlet of the 
lake, spreading the freshest verdure all around in this 
now desolate country. Having watered our horses, 
and taken in a sufficient supply of this element for 
the night, we crossed the plain, here not more than a 
thousand yards wide, and ascended a broad promon- 
tory of the range of sand-hills, where we encamped. 
It was a delightful spot, where the heart might 
have expanded in the enjoyment of freedom. In front 
of us to the south-east, the swampy lands of the 
lagoon, one immense rice-field (as it ought to be at 
least), spread out to the borders of the horizon; but 
no "white water," or open sea, was to be seen, not 
even as much as connected channels, nothing but one 
immense swampy flat, stretching out as far as the 
eye could reach. To the south the green pasturages, 
along which we had come, extended far beyond 
