148 
JOURNEY FROM BOUSSA TO KANO. 
present altogether, at the highest price, is not above 200 cowries. 
I had to make my dinner of raw flour, water, and an onion, re- 
serving the fowl for my sick servant. During the night heavy rain, 
hut without thunder or lightning. 
Monday, 26th. — Morning dull and cloudy. The chief servant 
of Wazo’s head man came to my tent early in the morning in a 
great fright, saying his master was going to hang him, as he thought 
he had stole part of the present I had sent him. He said he wished 
that Moussa or myself would go into the town and bear witness that 
he had delivered all I gave him. I thought it was only a trick 
to cause further delay, or to catch something else ; I therefore 
sent Moussa, and on his return had the bullocks loaded ; and at 
9. 30 A. M. left the place of our encampment near Wazo. Our 
path was rocky and very winding, having high rocky mounts to 
the east, with steep perpendicular sides, the tops of most occupied 
by villages and little walled towns. The inhabitants came into 
the valleys with millet, boiled beans, yams, and cashew nuts, &c. 
to sell ; the sellers were all women, every two or three having an 
armed male protector. In a narrow pass in the valley, as I had 
lingered behind the caravan, I fell in with a very interesting group, 
consisting of about a dozen of the natives, all young men, gaily 
dressed in their beads and tasselled skins, armed with bows and 
arrows and a light spear, some sitting and others standing ; in the 
midst of them were three Fitakies, and a jackass without a load. The 
north side of the pass was formed by a high mount, rising perpen- 
dicular for about thirty feet above the path, over which hung trees, 
and on the top of the mount a little village, to which the young 
men belonged ; the south side was formed by a large block of 
granite, on which the party were seated, the Fitakies looking as 
grave as the poor ass. At first I thought it was a robbery, and 
began to prepare my gun, but as I drew close and inquired what 
was the matter, before I intended to fire, it proved to be the 
