166 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. Chap. XLIII. 
decked out gaudily in red bernuses or silken dresses 
of various colours ; the Kanembu spearmen, almost 
naked, with their large wooden shields, their half-torn 
aprons round their loins, their barbarous head-dresses, 
and their bundles of spears ; then, in the distance be- 
hind, the continuous train of camels and pack-oxen : 
all the people full of spirits, and in the expectation 
of rich booty, pressing onward to the unknown re- 
gions towards the south-east. 
It was an exalted feeling of unrestrained liberty 
which animated me while, mounted on my noble 
charger, I rode silently along at the side of this mot- 
ley host, contemplating now the fine, beautiful coun- 
try, now the rich scenes of human life, which were 
illumined by a bright morning sun. As yet no blood 
had been shed by this army, and neither misery, devas- 
tation, nor the horrors of people torn from their homes, 
cried out against it. Every one seemed to think only of 
sport and amusement. Now and then a stir would be 
raised in the whole army when a gazelle started forth 
from the thicket, endeavouring to escape from her 
pursuers, but soon found herself hemmed in on every 
side, while Shiiwa horsemen and Kanembu spearmen, 
each endeavouring to possess himself of the prize, cried 
out to his rivals in the pursuit, " kolle, kolle!" " leave 
off, leave off! " as if the prey was already his own, while 
others animated their companions by shouting out, 
" gone, gone ! " " chase, chase ! " the sounds re-echoing 
from one troop to another ; or when a fat guinea-fowl, 
" kaji," or a partridge, " kwiye," roused from its secure 
