348 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. Chap. XXXI. 
concern in the fate of these unfortunate creatures, 
that he was pleased to lay great stress upon the case. 
Indeed, as the sequel shows, his letter must have con- 
tained some rather harsh or threatening expressions, 
to which the ruler of Bornu was not inclined to give 
way, though he yielded # to the justice of the specific 
* I will here give verbatim a few extracts of my despatch to 
Government, dated Kukawa, May 24, 1851, from which it will be 
seen how sure I was already at that time of the immense im- 
portance of the river which I was about to discover. 
" My Lord, — I have the honour to inform your Lordship that, 
on Tuesday next, I am to start for Adamawa, as it is called by the 
Fellatah (Fullan), or Fumbina, a very extensive country, whose 
capital, Yola, is distant from here fifteen days SSW., situated on a 
very considerable river called Faro, which, joining another river not 
less considerable, and likewise navigable, called Benuwe, falls into 
the Kwara, or Niger, at a place between Kakanda and Adda, not 
more than a few days distant from the mouth of that celebrated 
river." " My undertaking seemed to me the more worthy, as it has 
long been the intention of Government to explore that country ; 
for orders had been given to the Niger expedition to turn aside, 
if possible, from the course of that river, and to reach Bornu by 
a southern road, which it was presumed might be effected partly 
or entirely by water, &c. As for my part, I can at present certify, 
with the greatest confidence, that there is no connection whatever 
between those two rivers, the Chadda, which is identical with the 
Benuwe, on the one, and the Shary, the principal tributary of Lake 
Tsad, on the other side. Nevertheless, the Faro as well as the 
Benuwe seem to have their sources to the E. of the meridian of 
Kukawa; and the river formed by these two branches being navi- 
gable for large boats into the very heart of Adamawa, there will 
be a great facility for Europeans to enter that country after it 
shall have been sufficiently explored. " — After speaking of the 
northern road into the interior by way of Bilma, I concluded with 
these words : — 
" By and by, I am sure, a southern road will be opened into the 
heart of Central Africa, but the time has not yet come." 
