Zogírma may contain from 7000 to 8000 inhabitants; but at that time it was suffering greatly from famine, on account of the war which had been raging for the last two years, between the Fúlbe conquerors of the country and the native inhabitants the Dendi, who, favoured by the weakness of the government of their oppressors, had risen to assert their independence; and I could scarcely feel dissatisfied with my host when, after the first signs of hospitality which he had shown me, he left us to provide for our own wants, although we had some difficulty in procuring a sufficient supply of corn. I was very sorry that, owing to the unfavourable circumstances of the whole country, I was prevented from visiting the town of Bunza (which is situated south from Zogírma), on account of its interesting and important situation as regards the intercourse with Núpe on the lower part of the gulbi, where it is still navigable, and the number of deléb palms which are said to adorn it. There was also residing in this place a man whom I should like to have visited, inasmuch as he is reported to possess a great knowledge of the history of the Kanta, and of the relations of the province of Kebbi to the neighbouring countries. His name is Mʿallem Mahamúdu. [Sidenote: Thursday, June 9th.] We were to start the following day, in order to allow our camels some rest before entering the unsafe wilderness; but in the course of the morning the news suddenly arrived that a party of Tawárek, with about forty camels besides bullocks and asses, had arrived at the neighbouring town of Tilli on their way to Fógha, thus affording us the opportunity of traversing the wilderness with some degree of security. It was therefore decided that we should start in the afternoon by way of Tilli, which certainly lay greatly out of our road, in order to join this party, while my young friend Ábú Bakr, the eldest son of the governor, rode immediately to the neighbouring town to induce those people to wait for us. It was thus deemed sufficient to give me for companions only two horsemen; but fortunately they were of such a character that I preferred them to at least a dozen other people, both of them being experienced old warriors and most respectable men, one of them having been till lately the governor of the town of Débe, which was now deserted, and the site of which we had to pass on our road. I was heartily glad to get rid of my two former effeminate companions, Lowel, the servant of the governor of Gando, and Beshír, an attendant of the ghaladíma in Sókoto, as they had been of scarcely any use to me on my way hither, except, perhaps, in procuring me a better reception from the governors of the towns and villages; and I gladly complied with the demands of my new companions, by giving to each of them a new black “lithám” or “ráwani bakí” for themselves, a flask of rose oil for their wives, and one thousand shells for the expenses of their households during their absence.