158 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. Chap. XLIII. 
deep. The indented outlines of its shores greatly 
distinguished it from those more complete and regu- 
lar-shaped ngaljams which, in the course of time, I 
had an opportunity of visiting, not only in those ex- 
tensive plains* between the river Benuwe and Shari, 
but also in the regions of the middle course of the so- 
called Niger; for, in the quarters just mentioned, 
these shallow waters, or meadow- waters, often stretch 
out, in a straight or regularly-sweeping line, like arti- 
ficial canals, to an immense distance, — especially that 
most interesting sheet of water three days west of 
Timbuktu, the " A'raf-n-aman," or Ras el ma. 
Of quite a different nature is the character of the 
famous Bahar el Ghazal, which joins the Tsad on the 
north-eastern side, being a broad sandy valley girt 
by a rich border of vegetation. This peculiar valley, 
which it was not our destiny to become acquainted 
with by ocular inspection, formed the subject of con- 
versation with the vizier on Sunday evening; and a 
disputation arose, of so scientific a character that it 
might have silenced all those who scoff at the un- 
civilized state of the population of these regions. To 
be sure, the two principal persons in this conversation 
were Arabs ; but their forefathers had been settled in 
these regions for at least ten generations. 
Here in Diggera, where we were only one good 
day's march distant from the capital of Mandard, our 
friends were obliged to come to a decision upon the 
future destination of the expedition. After the news 
which had arrived some days previously, that the 
