The governors of the several provinces had each a singing or crying man, in addition to the drums and horses. The one of Zegzeg was the most disgusting, being a large black man, mounted on horseback, with an unshaven head, roaring out like a person in great agony, and every now and then screaming out as loud as he could bawl, and calling me a Kaffir, threatening to eat me. In the morning, at an early hour, I left our place of encampment; and ascending a gravelly ridge, I had an extensive view to the west and south-west, over the extensive plains and swamps of Gondamie. The soil on the ridge was a red clay and gravel, the trees low and stunted. At noon, halted for the bullock to rest; and at 1 P.M. got him to move on again. At 5 P.M. halted on the borders of a large lake, which is formed by the rivers Zurmie and Zarrie—or, more properly speaking, a chain of lakes and swamps, extending through all, or the greater part of, the plains of Gondamie, approaching nearly to Soccatoo. The borders of these lakes are the resort of numbers of elephants and other wild beasts. The appearance at this season, and at the spot where I saw it, was very beautiful; all the acacia trees were in blossom, some with white flowers, others with yellow, forming a contrast with the small dusky leaves, like gold and silver tassels on a cloak of dark green velvet. I observed some fine large fish leaping in the lake. Some of the troops were bathing; others watering their horses, bullocks, camels, and asses: the lake as smooth as glass, and flowing around the roots of the trees. The sun, on its approach to the horizon, throws the shadows of the flowery acacias along its surface, like sheets of burnished gold and silver. The smoking fires on its banks, the sounding of horns, the beating of their gongs or drums, the braying of their brass and tin trumpets, the rude huts of grass or branches of trees rising as if by magic, every where the calls on the names of Mahomed, Abdo, Mustafa, &c., with the neighing of horses and the braying of asses, gave animation to the beautiful scenery of the lake, and its sloping green and woody banks. The only regulation that appears in these rude feudal armies is, that they take up their ground according to the situation of the provinces, east, west, north, or south; but all are otherwise huddled together, without the least regularity. The man next in rank to the governor of each province has his tent placed nearest to him, and so on. I always found out my quarters, which were close to the Gadado, by inquiring what province the people belonged to.