Narrative of travels and discoveries in Northern and Central Africa, in the years 1822, 1823, and 1824Denham, Dixon
History
Narrative of travels and discoveries in Northern and Central Africa, in the years 1822, 1823, and 1824
Denham, Dixon
Africa, Central -- Description and travel; Africa, North -- Description and travel; Natural history -- Africa, North
Aug. 29.—Moved from Lari. Here we found four men, with a chief whom
Barca Gana had left at Kuskoua, returning, as the people would give
them no provisions. It was near sunset when we reached Zogany, thirty
miles; the country was quite a flat, covered with a plant resembling
a heath which I had seen nowhere else; and in many parts I observed
incrustations of trona. This heath is called kanuskin: the camels
eat it; and in the neighbourhood of trona it is generally found.
Aug. 30.—After a night of intolerable misery to us all, from flies
and mosquitoes, so bad as to knock up two of our blacks, we mounted
and advanced; and leaving our tents, for Bellal would not carry them
on, we proceeded to Garouah and Mabah;—which are full of people, and
though annually pillaged by Tuaricks and Tibboo Arabs, yet still they
will not quit their native soil. The character of the country here,
which is different to the south or west sides of the lake, extends to
Gala, where the land is again varied, and a little higher: for many
miles on this side we had one continued marsh and swamp. I was at
the northernmost part of the lake, and pursuing a course first to the
west, and then to the eastward of south, for five or six miles, nearly
up to the body of the horse in water, and with reeds and high grass
overtopping our heads, I at last got a sight of the open lake. We
disturbed hippopotami, buffaloes, enormous fish, and innumerable
hosts of insects. At the commencement of the water it had a taste
of trona, which, as we advanced, became gradually sweeter: indeed,
all the people say, when you ask if this water you drink so strong
of trona is the lake? _La! la! inki kora kora kitchi engobboo tilboo
baco_. (No! no! the water of the great lake is very sweet, no trona).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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