30 
TEAVELS IN AFRICA. 
Chap. XXXIX. 
Bagirmi, and Waday, but more especially to the Arab 
settlers in these countries, or the Shiiwa; in B6rnu, 
at least, I have never seen the black natives make use 
of this kind of food, while in Bagirmi it seems to con- 
stitute a sort of luxury even with the wealthier classes. 
The reader will see in the course of my narrative, 
that in Mas-ena I lived principally on this kind of 
Poa. It makes a light palatable dish, but requires a 
great deal of butter. 
After having entered the forest and passed several 
small waterpools, we encamped near one of these, when 
the heat of the sun began to make itself felt. This 
district abounded in mimosas of the species called 
gherret, um-el-barka, or "kingar," which affords a very 
excellent wood for saddles and other purposes, while 
the coals prepared from it are used for making 
powder. My old talkative, but not very energetic 
companion Bu-Zed, was busy in making new pegs 
for my tent, the very hard black ground of B6rnu de- 
stroying pegs very soon ; and in the meantime, as- 
sisted by Hosen ben Har, gave me a first insight 
into the numerous tribes living in Kanem and round 
the bahar-el-ghazal. The fruits of the gherret, which 
in their general appearance are very like those of the 
tamarind- tree, are a very important native medicine, 
especially in cases of dysentery, and it is most 
probably to them that I owed my recovery when at- 
tacked by that destructive disease during my second 
stay in Sokoto in September, 1854. The same tree 
is essential for preparing the water-skins, that most 
