422 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. Chap. XXXIV. 
and the ground-floor was strewn with pebbles instead 
of sand, which seems to be the custom here throughout 
the rainy season. My host spent a great part of the 
evening in our company. I made him a present 
of ten sheets of paper, which, as a learned man in a 
retired spot who had never before seen so much 
writing material together, caused him a great deal of 
delight, though he seemed to be of a sullen temper. 
He informed me that the Fulbe settled here belonged 
to the tribe of the Hillega. 
Thursday Although the weather was very gloomy, 
June 12th. we se t m ^ e m0 rning through the rich 
grassy plain, which only round the settlements was 
laid out in cultivated fields ; we crossed and re-crossed 
the river of the day before, which keeps meandering 
through the plain. When we reached the village 
Bagma, which was cheerfully enlivened by a nu- 
merous herd of cattle, I was struck with the size and 
shape of the huts, which testified to the difference of 
the climate which we had entered, not less than to 
the mode of living of the inhabitants. Some of these 
huts were from forty to sixty feet long, about fifteen 
broad, and from ten to twelve high, narrowing above 
to a ridge, and thatched all over, no distinction being 
made between roof and wall ; others had a very pecu- 
liar shape, consisting of three semicircles. 
The reason for making the huts so spacious is 
the necessity of sheltering the cattle, particularly 
young cattle, against the inclemency of the weather. 
Some of them were nothing better than stables, while 
