JOURNEY FROM BOUSSA TO KANO l6l 
laughing them out of asking me for such a thing. As he and 1 
rode after the bullock, a great deal of our conversation was about 
England, which he, as well as a great many others here, declares 
to be a small island in the midst of the sea. I had hard work to 
convince him to the contrary. lie then talked a great deal about 
the inferiority of the Christians to the true believers in battle. 
I told him he had never yet had Christians to deal with in battle, 
or he would tell another story. Oh ! do not say that,” says 
he ; “ did we not kill forty at Adamowa, and make all the rest 
run away ?” I said they were all Mahometans and Arabs, not a 
Christian amongst them : but all I could say he would not be con- 
vinced, until I told him he lied like a thief, and whenever I saw 
Bello I should insist on his writing to the governors of the different 
provinces of Houssa, to inform their people of the truth of that 
affair : that it was Arabs and Mahometans, headed by Boobecker 
Bookaloom, who made the attack on Adamowa ; and that they had, 
to save themselves, taken advantage of our being in Bornou at the 
time to throw it on our backs. Mr. Abdulkrum began to be a 
little alarmed at the earnestness of my language and threat, and 
begged I would think no more about it ; he himself knew it was a 
lie told by the Arabs to save their credit. We parted not quite 
such good friends as we had been. 
The country at present, on this side of Zaria, looks like some 
of the finest in England, about the latter end of the month of 
April. All around is green and beautiful, with only trees here 
and there. The soil a red clay, mixed with gravel. The cultivated 
ground continued until 1 1 A. M. when we entered a wood of low 
trees, which continued until noon, when we found ourselves amongst 
o 
the cultivated grounds belonging to the town of Leokoro, which we 
passed, and halted on the east side. It is of considerable size, 
walled round, but the wall is in very bad condition, being broken 
and falling down in several places. The houses are in good repair, 
