Chap. XXVII. 
ENTER «BC/RNU PROPER. 
201 
being obliged to pay a single shell, and gave them a 
good feed, after which we resumed our march, and 
were not a little astonished when, having crossed the 
komadugu where it formed a narrow meandering 
channel about fifty yards broad, and bordered on 
both sides with trees, we discovered the town of Zur- 
rikulo at a short distance before us. 
Going round the north side of the town, we entered 
the dilapidated wall on the eastern side, where there 
was an open space, and pitched my tent close to the 
Tebu, who had arrived already in the forenoon. Soon 
after, there arrived also a kafila, with twelve camels 
and a number of oxen and asses, from Kukawa, and 
I was anxious to obtain some news of Mr. Richardson ; 
but these people were utterly ignorant of the actual 
or expected arrival of any Christian in that place. 
They told me, however, what was not very agreeable, 
that the sheikh of Bornu was about to undertake a 
pilgrimage to Mekka ; but fortunately, though that 
was the heart's desire of that mild and pious man, he 
could not well carry it into execution. 
I had now entered Bornu proper, the nucleus of that 
great Central African empire in its second stage, after 
Kanem had been given up. It is bordered towards the 
east by the great sea-like komadugu the Tsad or Tsade, 
and towards the west and north-west by the little ko- 
madugu which by the members of the last expedition 
has been called Yeou, from the town of that name, or 
rather Y6, near which they first made its acquaintance 
on their way from Fezzan. I had now left behind 
