540 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. Chap. XXXVIL 
Shortly before we reached Giilfo we had passed a 
village entirely inhabited by Shuwa, and even called 
Shuwaram. 
Though we had now reached the monotonous allu- 
vial plains of Bornu Proper, yet the following day's 
march in the company of my friend Billama, who, 
after we had become better acquainted, was anxious 
to gratify my desire for information in every respect, 
was highly interesting. Although the vegetation 
was very poor in comparison with that of the more 
southern districts, yet there was plenty of underwood, 
and we observed the small bush called " kumkum," 
the berries of which taste very like coffee, and which 
in reality may be a kind of Coffea. On our right 
we left a path leading by Yamake, Tang&llanda, and 
Kirbaje, to Kabe-Ngawa, a place famous on account 
of its neighbourhood affording the "fogo" — wood 
from which the shields (ngawa) of the Kanembu are 
made: it lies on the road to Dikowa, passing by a 
place called A'jowa. The spears of the natives (ka- 
sekka) are made from the root of the kindil or talha, 
but the javelin (bellam) from that of the kiirna; the 
shafts of arrows are made from the " kabilla"-bush, 
which hereabouts grows in great abundance. Culti- 
vated and pasture-ground alternately succeeded each 
other, and I was astonished to see that the produce of 
this district was exclusively argum moro, or Pennise- 
tum, while ngaberi, or Holcus sorghum, is a much 
more general grain in B6rnu, with the exception of 
the country of the Koyam. A little before eleven 
