Chap. LII. THE SHIj'WA OF MO'KORO'. 463 
that the passage was never attempted. I myself 
succeeded in crossing the river, with my horse and 
luggage, without any accident ; and having fired a 
shot, in order to express my satisfaction at having 
safely escaped from the hands of the superstitious 
Bagirmi people, I pursued my march without delay, 
for I was afraid of exposing my horse to the per- 
nicious stings of the " tsetse " fly, which, as I have 
observed before, proves extremely dangerous to the 
animal, but which fortunately infests only the very 
banks of this river, for I have observed it nowhere 
else. It is a large yellow species. 
I had now entered again upon the territory of my 
friend Yiisuf the prince of Logon, and could, with- 
out any danger of molestation, freely move about. 
The weather was very wet ; and I twice took refuge 
in small villages, which were situated in the midst of 
rich corn-fields, in order to escape a heavy shower. 
The whole district is called Mokoro, and comprises, 
besides several villages of logode Logon, or people 
of Logon, ten hamlets of Shiiwa, in one of which we 
took up our quarters. These Shiiwa, however, are not 
distinguished for hospitality ; and it required a great 
deal of negotiation before I was allowed to make 
myself comfortable in one of these huts, which are 
very spacious indeed for these countries, being from 
50 to 60 feet in diameter : they have besides a very 
remarkable peculiarity, being furnished with a large 
bed-room, if I may say so, which occupies the middle 
of the hut, and consists of a room raised about three 
