Chap, XLIV. DESTRUCTION.— NEW YEAR. 
205 
yards as I had seen elsewhere. In the centre of the 
village there were some extensive tanks, or pools of 
water, which seemed to be made by the hand of 
man. 
The whole encampment, or " ngaufate," was sur- 
rounded with a strong fence of thorny bushes, rather 
for the purpose of preventing the slaves from es- 
caping, than to defend the encampment against an 
enemy. Having wandered about amidst this scene 
of destruction, I went in the afternoon to the border 
of the " ngaljam," which was enlivened by horses and 
cattle grazing, and people quietly reclining here and 
there or bathing in the w r ater.* I then wandered 
along the bank to some distance, where the sheet of 
open water on this side was entirely interrupted, while 
on the other shore a considerable strip of water 
stretched out before the view. 
Here, in Demmo, the year 1852 opened to me, in 
the course of which I at that time entertained a hope 
of returning homewards, not fancying that I was to 
remain three years more in these barbarous countries, 
amidst constantly varying impressions of discovery, 
of disappointment, of friendly and hostile treatment, 
and under all sorts of affliction, distress, and sickness. 
Our stay here was varied by a few interesting 
incidents, one of which I will relate. The intriguing 
Shiiwa chief Mallem Jymma, whose ambitious designs 
* It was here that I made the sketch from which the artist 
has taken the interesting view of this locality. 
