197 
CHAP. XXVII. 
BORNU PROPER. 
The ghaladima had promised to send me Saturday) 
a horseman last evening, as I wanted to March 22nd - 
start early in the morning ; but as we neither saw 
nor heard anything of him the whole night, I thought 
it better not to lose any more time, but to rely upon 
my own resources, and accordingly left the town 
quietly by the northern gate, while the people, after 
last night's merriment, were still buried in sleep. 
Following the great road, we kept on through a 
light forest, at times interrupted by a little culti- 
vation. We met several parties — first of a warlike 
character, armed, horse and foot, then a motley 
band of natron -traders with camels, bulls, horses and 
asses, all laden with this valuable article. Emerging 
at length from the forest, we came upon a wide extent 
of cultivated land with a sandy soil, with hardly a 
single tree at present, and, the labours of the field not 
having yet commenced, still covered with the kawo or 
Asclepias, the characteristic weed of Negroland, which 
every year, at the beginning of the agricultural season, 
is cleared away, and which during the dry season 
grows again, often to the height of ten or twelve feet. 
We then had a most interesting and cheerful scene of 
o 3 
