Chap. XXVII. 
WA'DI. 
211 
native country; but the Arab who bought it from 
me, went first to Kano when the rainy season was 
already setting in, and the poor animal died not far 
from the place where Mr. Richardson had succumbed. 
Its fidelity will ever remain in my memory as one 
of the pleasantest recollections of my journey. 
Having thus got back our best carrier, though we 
had lost a good night's rest, we started early next 
morning over the same sort of ground we had been 
traversing the last few days, and in two hours 
reached the little town of Wadi, the noise from which, 
caused by the pounding of grain, had been heard by 
us at the distance of almost a mile. Indeed the 
pounding of grain has betrayed many a little village 
and many a caravan. The town is considerable, but 
properly consists of two different quarters walled all 
round, and separated from each other by a wide open 
space where the cattle rest in safety. Approving 
very much of this way of building a town in these 
turbulent regions, we kept along the open space, but 
were greatly perplexed from the number of paths 
branching off in every direction, and scarcely knew 
which road to take. 
It had been my intention originally to go to 
Borzdri, in the hope of obtaining from the governor 
of that town a horseman to carry the news of my 
approach to the sheikh of Bornu ; but being here 
informed that I should be obliged to make a great 
circuit in order to touch at that place, I changed my 
plan, and took another and more direct road, which in 
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