232 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. Chap. XXVII, 
of herdsmen, but had been beaten off. He pursued 
his way in order to make out whether the robbers had 
withdrawn. An archer on horseback is an unheard- 
of thing not only in Bornu, but in almost all Negro- 
land, except with the Fiilbe ; but even among them 
it is rare. Fortuna.tely the country was here tolerably 
open, so that we could not be taken by surprise, and 
we were greatly reassured when we met a troop of 
native travellers, three of whom were carrying each a 
pair of bukhsa or ngibii, immense calabashes joined 
at the bottom by a piece of strong wood, but open 
on the top. 
These are the simple ferry-boats of the country, 
capable of carrying one or two persons, who have 
nothing besides their clothes (which they may deposit 
inside the calabashes), safely, but certainly not dryly 
across a stream. In order to transport heavier 
things, three pairs, joined in the way I shall have 
an opportunity of describing at another time, will 
form a sufficiently buoyant raft. This would form 
the most useful expedient for any European tra- 
veller who should undertake to penetrate into the 
equatorial regions, which abound in water; but if 
he has much luggage, he ought to have four pairs of 
calabashes, and a strong frame to extend across them. 
The great advantage of such a portable boat 
is, that the parts can be most easily carried on 
men's backs through the most rugged and moun- 
tainous regions, while the raft so formed will be 
strong enough, if the parts are well fastened together, 
