258 
NIOGO — POUKOU. 
a villag-e situated at the foot of a very high mountain called 
Couro. The streets of this village form covered alleys ; each 
hut is encircled by a court, enclosed by a hedge of euphorbias, 
and the entrance to which is through a hut of a square form 
and considerable dimensions. The doors are as high as ours ; 
some are ornamented with sculpture that is not destitute of taste ; 
you then cross the court to reach the hut in which the family 
reside. The inhabitants of Niogo are rigid Mahometans : 
a woman who presented me at sun-set with some water to 
perform my ablutions, was so astonished at my refusing to 
make use of it, that she ran through the village crying that I 
was a Pagan and did not pray. As this woman had for a long 
time not borne the best reputation, her clamours did not 
produce the dangerous effects with which they might otherwise 
have been attended. 
April 19th. We continued our course to the south, and 
traversed a more level country than the preceding day. Here 
man needs but commit the seed to the ground in order to reap 
abundant crops. A few paces to the left of our track was the 
source of the Gaugore, which runs to the east ; some minutes 
after we entei-ed Poukou. At this village I thought my 
expedition would have terminated. Travelling almost always 
on foot for the last two months under a burning sun, forced 
for several days to ascend and descend steep mountains, with 
no other nourishment than rice boiled in water with pistachio- 
nuts, and no other drink than water, no bed except the 
