530 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. Chap. XXXVII. 
Kiikawa, behaved rather sullenly on our journey to 
A/damawa, had become infinitely more amiable after 
the governor of that country had sent me back. He 
not only manifested on every occasion his heart-felt 
sorrow on account of my having been disappointed 
in the expectation of travelling over that interesting 
country in every direction, but he still more la- 
mented that his countrymen had been deprived, by 
the imprudence of their ruler, of the advantage of 
my presence in the country. I have had occasion to 
observe repeatedly, that there is a great deal of re- 
publican spirit in the Fulbe, and that they have 
in general the air and manners of freeborn men, 
though I shall have to dwell upon the deterioration 
of this original character in the case of the inhabit- 
ants of Sokoto. 
The commencement of our march through the 
unsafe and infested boundary-district from U'ba 
northward was not very auspicious ; and I was almost 
afraid lest, after having been allowed to reach the 
frontier unmolested, we were doomed to some in- 
sidious treachery in these lawless lands. The original 
arrangement was, that some other people should suc- 
ceed to Ibrahima, in order to see me safe to Tssege ; 
but they never made their appearance, and we had 
scarcely parted from Ibrahima when all sorts of alarms 
frightened and disturbed our little band. First a 
dreadful noise was heard from above the rocks at the 
foot of which lay our road; but it was found to 
proceed only from a countless multitude of birds of 
