But it almost seemed as if we were to stay here a third day; for when we were getting ready our luggage early in the morning of the 12th, a very violent thunder-storm broke out, with torrents of rain, which made our open encampment rather uncomfortable, and did not allow us to start until a late hour. After a march of about four miles through a very dense forest with low ridges on our right, we reached the site of Bírni- n-Débe, a beautiful open spot adorned with a rich abundance of dorówa besides a tolerable number of deléb palms, while beyond the rich mass of vegetation a hilly chain approached from the north-east. Footprints of elephants were here observed in every direction. The rich character of the country scarcely allows the traveller to suspect that a few miles to the north lies the province of Máuri or Árewá, which all my authorities represent as a country approaching closely to the nature of the desert. Having then entered again thick forest, which occasionally became so dense that it scarcely allowed us to pass, and caused repeated delays, we reached, after a march of about nine miles, a large depression or shallow vale coming from the north-east from the province of Máuri, and therefore called Dallul or Ráfi-n-Máuri (the Vale of Máuri), richly clad with a profusion of the most succulent herbage and with numerous deléb palms, besides a few specimens of the dúm palm; and having halted here for a few minutes near a well and the site of a former Púllo settlement of the name of Bána, we crossed the path which leads from Máuri to Yélu, the capital of the province of Déndina. This is the most dangerous part of the whole route, on account of the two provinces, that of Máuri and Déndina, having rebelled, and there being constant intercourse between the enemy in these two quarters along this track, so that our companions were not a little alarmed when fresh footprints of horses were here discovered. However we could move on but slowly on account of the dense thicket, and the anxiety of the people to collect the fruit of the deléb palm, corn being extremely scanty and scarcely to be got in this region at the time. Here the camel, which I had received from Khalílu in a present, and which I had given up to my Méjebrí companion, went raving mad, making the most ludicrous leaps, and kicking in every direction, till it fell to the ground.