Chap. XXIII. THE GOVERNOR OF KA'tSENA. 49 
of immense corpulency, resembling a eunuch. Indeed 
nothing but the cut of his face, his aquiline nose, and 
rather light colour, and the little goatlike beard 
which ornamented his chin, could expose him to the 
suspicion of being a Piillo or Ba-Fellanchi.* He 
wanted to treat my business apart from that of Elaiji, 
who, however, declared that he had come only for 
my sake. While the fat ghaladima was returning 
to inform his brother of what he had heard, a troop 
of well-mounted Kel-esararf (who, as I was told, are 
settled at present in the province of Katsena) came 
up at full speed. It was not long before a servant 
came from the serki, inviting me alone into his pre- 
sence. 
Mohammed Bello Yerima, the eldest son of the 
former well-known governor Mallem Ghomaro J was 
seated under a wide-spreading and luxuriant tama- 
rind-tree, dressed simply in a large white shirt with 
a black rawani round his face. The A'sbenawa, who 
formed a large semicircle around him, were dressed 
most gaudily. Stepping into the opening of the 
semicircle, I saluted the governor, telling him that as 
I and my companions had lost, on the border of AV 
ben, almost all the valuable property we had brought 
* This is the only correct Hausa form for the singular of Fel- 
lani. 
■f I afterwards heard that these people belonged to the Kel- 
tidik, and possessed large establishments of slaves and farms in 
Dwan and Shirgingim. 
J The Fulbe generally change the kin into ghain, and there- 
fore say Ghomaro instead of 'Omaro. 
VOL. II. E 
