274 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. Chap. XL VI. 
fertile and well-inhabited district full of open hamlets, 
while the corn-fields were enlivened with numbers 
of k6rna-trees, at present laden with fruit. I was 
pleased to see that the inhabitants of this district 
follow the same custom as the Miisgu people, stor- 
ing their provision of herbage for the dry season 
on the branches of the trees. All the inhabitants 
are Arabs, and belong to the tribe called Welad 
Megebel, whose chief is called 1'sa A'she ; the name of 
the district is Rangana. At a considerable distance 
towards the south there is a walled town called Dema, 
belonging to the sheikh Abba. The Arabs are either 
cattle-breeders or corn-growers ; but further on we 
saw some cotton under cultivation, after which we 
again entered upon firki ground, where my companion 
called my attention to a new variety of grass called 
" litutu," the seeds of which, besides the kreb above- 
mentioned, constitute a great part of the food of the 
poorer people of this district. 
Dense rows of fine tamarind-trees indicated the 
neighbourhood of a watercourse, which even at present 
was of some importance, being about 35 yards broad, 
and 3 feet 9 inches in depth, but without a percepti- 
ble current ; a small canoe, however, lying on its 
border, justified the opinion that occasionally it is not 
fordable, of which I myself received a proof on my 
return-journey, when I crossed it lower down, near 
Legari. This watercourse, which in the rainy season 
conveys towards the lake a considerable quantity of 
water, is called Komadugu Lebe. There was for- 
