Fine fresh pasture-grounds, and melancholy tracts clothed with nothing but heath, succeeded each other, whilst not a single tree broke the monotony of the level country. At length we encamped near a deserted village of cattle-breeders, consisting of about twenty small conical huts, built in the form of a large circle. We had scarcely begun to make ourselves comfortable, when a noisy quarrel arose about the dates so unjustly taken from their owners, and some of the Arabs concerned in the dispute came to my tent in order to have their claims settled, when the whole particulars of the shameless robberies committed in the course of the day, came under my notice, and especially that of the horse. But this was a delicate subject, and one that excited the angry passions of those concerned—so much so that one of them, named Ibrahím, came running with his loaded gun straight into my tent, threatening to blow out the brains of any body who spoke of injustice or robbery. As for Bakhér, and ʿAbd e’ Rahmán, who were the actual possessors of the horse, they were about to leave by themselves. The violent proceedings of our protectors had spread such terror throughout these almost desolate regions, that in the evening, solely from fear, two oxen and a quantity of milk were sent from a neighbouring berí as presents. The night was fresh, but not cold, and a very heavy dew fell. [Sidenote: Friday, Sept. 26th.] Reached about noon the first large cluster of huts of the village of Berí, after having followed a very numerous and fine herd of cattle (one of the finest I saw in the interior of the continent) for awhile, with the urgent desire of obtaining a drink of fresh milk, and then crossed a tolerably deep inlet of the lagoon. Here we encamped on a terribly hot sandy spot, without any shade, some two hundred yards from the village, which stretches in a long line from north to south. Berí is a place of importance, at least since the date of the greatest splendour of the Bórnu kingdom, and is frequently mentioned in the history of the great king Edrís Alawóma, written during his lifetime by his chief imám Ahmed. Its situation is such as to render it of great importance as a station; for here the army proceeding from Bórnu to the interior of Kánem leaves the shore of the lagoon, and has generally to make a long stay, in order to regain strength for the ensuing march, and to supply itself with fresh provisions. Till a few years previously, a Bórnu governor of the name of Shitíma Aba had been residing here; but he had given up the place, and preferred living in the capital.