Life And Travels Of Mungo Park By Mungo Park With A Full Narrative Of Subsequent Adventure In Central Africa
















 -  He assigned to them some huts,
which they had no sooner entered than they were much incommoded by crowds
of - Page 247
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He Assigned To Them Some Huts, Which They Had No Sooner Entered Than They Were Much Incommoded By Crowds Of Visitors.

They were most liberally supplied with provisions; besides bullocks, camel loads of wheat and rice, butter, and honey, they

Had a daily allowance of rice mixed with meat, and paste made of barley flour. On a second interview, they delivered to the sheik the present intended for him; he examined the gun and brace of pistols attentively, and seemed much pleased with them. He was delighted when he was told that his fame had reached the king of England, and said, "This must be in consequence of our having defeated the Begharmies;" and one of his most distinguished chiefs asked, "Did he ever hear of me?" "Certainly," was the reply; and all the court exclaimed, "Oh, the king of England must be a great man!" The sheik was much gratified by the present of a musical snuff-box, of which he had previously expressed strong admiration. The whole populace were afterwards gratified by a discharge of sky-rockets.

On the 2d March, the travellers set out to Birnie, to visit the sultan. At this court it was the fashion for the grandees to emulate each other in rotundity, and when the desired result could not be attained by high feeding, they used wadding, and in spite of the sultry climate, put on a vast number of garments, one over another. Surrounded by three hundred of these great men, sat the sultan, enclosed in a species of cane basket covered with silk, his features scarcely discernible beneath his huge turban. The presents were received in silence.

The travellers departed for Kouka, passing Angornou, a city containing thirty thousand inhabitants. The market of Angornou is held in the open air, and is attended by immense crowds; the principal articles sold are grain, bullocks, sheep, and fowls, together with amber, coral, and brass; also young lions, which are kept as domestic pets.

The kingdom of Bornou is of great extent. Its chief physical feature is the lake Tchad, which is about 200 miles in length, and 150 in breadth, and is one of the largest bodies of fresh water in the world, second only in extent to the great inland seas of America. Its dimensions vary according to the season; and during the rains, many miles of territory previously dry, are submerged. This tract, covered with dense thickets, and rank grass twice the height of a man, is the habitation of wild beasts, "abounding with elephants of enormous dimensions, beneath whose reclining bodies large shrubs, and even young trees were seen crushed; tenanted also by lions, panthers, leopards, large flocks of hyenas, and snakes of enormous bulk." These monsters of the wood are driven from their fastnesses by the advancing waters, and seek their prey among the dwellings of the natives. "At this period, travellers, and the persons employed in watching the harvest, often fall victims; nay, the hyenas have been known to carry walled towns by storm, and devour the herds which had been driven into them for shelter."

The soil of Bornou is fertile, and though only turned up by the hoe, yields pretty good crops of the small grain called _gussub_. Vast herds of cattle abound.

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