It is on the Bauchi Light Railway that the Pagan belt of land is first touched, but there they are a very mild variety, a kind of Hausa-Pagan, the two having largely mingled and intermarried. Along the route we are now crossing there is a nearer approach to the real article, but nothing approaching the wild tribes on the further stages on the plateau. Men and women in the Gussum-Juga direction wear scarcely any clothing—males, a narrow loin-cloth; females, a bunch of leaves in front and another at the back—and keep themselves rather apart from the other population. The men turn from their work in the fields to bow to the white men. The Hausa villages and Fulani farms are not far from the dwelling-places of their aforetime prey, for slaves, and sworn enemies. Cultivation of the land, though not general, is fairly frequent. Pagan villages, instead of always being made in rocky heights where they were safe from the raiding Fulani horsemen, are now seen pitched lower, and not infrequently in the valleys. The British power ensures them protection and peace. Raiding for slaves is over, in these parts. From Rahama the ascent to the plateau of Bauchi Province is an imperceptible slope. After leaving Gussum towards Juga there is a gentle down-grade for half the distance, carrying and concentrating rain from the hills and mountains, and in the course of a few hours making dry river beds and shallow streams into rushing, dangerous waters. This we experienced. CHAPTER XIX RAHAMA TO JUGA—(_continued_) Stopped by a stream—A volunteer—Amadu the carrier—Sun heat—Across the river—“Kow abinshi”—The doki boy’s experiment—The climate and granite—Domestic details on trek—A chilling downpour—Mark Tapleys—Sun and warmth—Hanza’s command—A dignified procession. Half-a-dozen men who had come from the opposite direction, and who were some distance to the right, shouted in a warning tone as we passed, “Rau” (“Water”). The reason we soon understood. A few minutes later we were at the edge of a steep bank below which a swift, swirling river was being impelled from rapids quite near. The sound of the torrent as it fell on the rocks made one feel utterly insignificant, a mere twig if within such force and power. It was clear that the water was not to be crossed lightly, and the first thing was to ascertain whether the depth was above a man’s shoulders. Under the direction of Hanza several of the carriers threw aside their loin-cloths and waded in. Almost at once they were off their feet, swimming, splashing, laughing, shouting with joy at the cool bath. The bends of the bank enabled them to get back without distress. Evidently, however, the river was impassable, for some of the carriers could not swim, and even if all could the question of taking over heavy loads had to be solved.