On the 8th of February we returned to Showy, and the day following pursued our route by Willighi and Affadai. Willighi is a walled town of considerable strength; indeed the Begharmis always pass it by on their predatory excursions. The walls are nearly fifty feet high, with watch-towers erected on the salient angles, where there are constant sentinels. The sultan also lives in a sort of citadel with double walls, and three heavy gates in each wall, strongly bound with iron. Borgomanda, the reigning sultan of Begharmi, and Cheromah (which means heir-apparent), send annual presents to Mai Dundelmah, the sultan of Willighi; but he is a hadgi, and holds the sheikh of Bornou in too high estimation to forsake his fortunes. Before arriving at Willighi, which is only a day’s journey from Gulphi, we recrossed the Gurdya, a considerable stream running from the Shary into the great lake. Feb. 10.—We left Willighi, after presenting the sultan with two knives, two pairs of scissors, a turban, and a red cap, and in about two hours arrived at another ford of the water Maffatai. These fords are known by the natives of the neighbouring towns only, who are always hired as guides. The water was up to the body of the horse; and a weak camel, by encountering the load of another, was thrown off the causeway into twelve or fourteen feet of water. We crossed, this day, three deep marshes, besides the river, which, the Willighi guide informed us, extended to the river, at one of which we were detained nearly an hour before we could venture a passage: the water reached to our saddles. After the rainy season, canoes come from Showy to the neighbourhood of Willighi, for a wood which is here abundant, called by the natives kagam, and another called korna, with which they build their canoes, and make their paddles. The fruit, also, of a species of locust tree, which the natives call kadellaboo, is here gathered. We rested under the shade of a beautiful large tree of this description, bearing a flower of a deep crimson colour; a yellow jessamine, with a delicious odour, was creeping around it, while other delicate aromatic plants grew in wild profusion. Nevertheless, the paths through these woods, though literally strewed with flowers, were nearly impassable from the overhanging branches of thorny shrubs, which not only tore our shirts and cloaks, but were sufficiently strong to drag the loads from the backs of the camels: we were nearly twelve hours in making twenty-two miles. When we arrived at the town of Affadai, our people were too tired to cook the rice we had with us, and the kadi merely sent us flour and water paste, and _leban_ (sour milk): at the same time promising to kill a sheep the next day, if we would stay. We, however, departed early on the following morning, and came, towards evening, to a place called Kala, a wretched nest of huts, although surrounded by a wall, and having strong gates.