Chap. XXXIX. IMPORTANCE OF BER1'. 
51 
the continent) for awhile, with the urgent desire 
of obtaining a drink of fresh milk, and then crossed 
a tolerably deep inlet of the lagoon. Here we en- 
camped on a terribly hot sandy spot, without any 
shade, some two hundred yards from the village, 
which stretches in a long line from north to south. 
Beri is a place of importance, at least since the 
date of the greatest splendour of the B6rnu kingdom, 
and is frequently mentioned in the history of the 
great king Edris Alawoma, written during his lifetime 
by his chief imam Ahmed. Its situation is such as 
to render it of great importance as a station; for 
here the army proceeding from Bornu to the interior 
of Kan em leaves the shore of the lagoon, and has 
generally to make a long stay, in order to regain 
strength for the ensuing march, and to supply itself 
with fresh provisions. Till a few years previously, a 
B6rnu governor of the name of Shitima Aba had been 
residing here ; but he had given up the place, and 
preferred living in the capital. 
But here I must add, that there are two places 
called Beri, distant from each other a few miles, the 
one where we were encamped being called Beri-kura, 
the Great Beri, the other with the surname " fute " 
(the western), from its more westerly situation ; but 
it is at present greatly reduced, and we had left it 
unobserved on one side. The greater part of the 
inhabitants of Beri are Kanembu, and belong to the 
clan of the Sugiirti, a large division of that tribe, 
which, however, in the last struggle of the old dy- 
E 2 
