JOURNEY FROM KATUNGA TO BOUSSA. 
93 
The virtue of chastity I do not believe to exist in Wawa. Even the 
widow Zuma lets out her female slaves for hire, like the rest of the 
people of the town. Neither is sobriety held as a virtue. I never 
was in a place in my life where drunkenness was so general. Go- 
vernor, priest, and layman, and even some of the ladies, drink to 
excess. I was pestered for three or four days by the governor’s 
daughter, who used to come several times in a day, painted and 
bedizened in the highest style of Wawa fashion, but always half 
tipsy ; I could only get rid of her by telling her that I prayed and 
looked at the stars all night, never drank any thing stronger than 
roa-in-zajir, which they call my tea, — literally hot water : she always 
departed in a flood of tears. Notwithstanding their want of chastity, 
and drunkenness, they are a merry people, and have behaved well to 
me. They appear to have plenty of the necessaries of life, and a 
great many of the luxuries, some of which they would be better 
without ; this being the direct road from Bornou, Houssa, and 
Nyffe, to Gonja, Dahomey, and Jannah. Since the war between 
the Fellatas and people of Yourriba, they are able to procure 
plenty of European articles, such as pewter jugs and dishes, copper 
pans, earthenware, Manchester cottons, &c. Their fruits are limes, 
plantains, bananas, and several wild fruits in the season. Their 
vegetables are yams, calalou, or the leaves of a plant which they 
use in their soups, as we do greens or cabbage ; grain, doura, Indian 
corn, and millet. Fish they procure in great plenty from the Quorra 
and its tributary streams : those I have seen were all smoked, and 
principally a kind of catfish. Their best and largest horses come from 
Bornou : the native breed are small, like the Shetland ponies, hardy, 
active, and generally of a brown or mouse colour. Oxen are in 
great plenty, principally in the hands of the Fellatas; sheep and 
goats are also plentiful ; domestic fowls plenty and cheap ; honey 
and bees’ wax abundant ; ivory and ostrich feathers they say are 
to be procured in great plenty, but they can get no sale for them. 
