We therefore rose very early in the following morning, long before day- break, and at four o’clock had already left the gate of the town behind us. There is still a great deal of cultivation of cotton to be seen, even in the present state of decay to which this province is reduced; but an immense deal more might be cultivated. Then followed fields of sorghum; and further on, the lowing of cattle and the cackling of hens indicated the presence of a Shúwa village at some distance on our left. Cultivated ground and forest alternately succeeded each other, the wild hog being seen in every direction, while numerous villages were lying about here and there, but at present all deserted, the inhabitants, who belong to the Shúwa, migrating during the dry season towards a large shallow watercourse in the south-west, where they find fresher pasture- grounds for their cattle. This watercourse or ngáljam is famous under several names, being called Bawísh, Madéf, and Burbéde. We then passed on our left the town Úlluf, Húlluf, or Hélib, surrounded by a high clay wall, and almost hidden behind wide-spreading fig-trees, just as is the case with Kála. This town, the name of which is pronounced “Elf” by the Arabs, and of the origin of which they give very absurd accounts, is ill-famed for the presumed witchcraft and sorcery of its inhabitants; and this was the only reason which prevented my companions from staying here during the heat of the day. We therefore continued our march; and, having passed another swamp, entered a well-cultivated district, where a great deal of sorghum was grown. I was however surprised at seeing the stacks of grain, or, as they are called in Kanúri, bágga argúmbe, still standing in the fields. We encamped a little beyond the temporary village of Sheikh el Khasés, close to an extensive sheet of water, under the shade of a beautiful tamarind-tree. This piece of water, as the people assured me, only dries up annually for a short time, when the rainy season again fills it. All these native Arabs, as I have already had occasion to remark, are very inhospitable; and the people here, where we had encamped, did not offer us any refreshment. However I succeeded in buying from them a little honey, for a few needles.