Having presented myself at the governor’s house, I soon obtained quarters; but they were not at all according to my fancy, being small and narrow. The town, in its very low position, is not refreshed by a single current of air, and altogether has a very oppressive atmosphere. The huts in these Songhay places are made rather for women than for men, the greater part of each hut being occupied by the female apartment or the alkilla, and the bedstead or serír, made of the branches of trees, being inclosed in a separate chamber of mats, and thus leaving only a very small entrance, and obstructing the whole interior of the dwelling. I have already had occasion, in describing the town of Ágades, to point out the care which the Songhay people bestow upon their matrimonial couches; and I was obliged first of all to take down one of these small matting bed-rooms in order to obtain some little ventilation in my hut. At length I had made myself somewhat comfortable, when the governor sent two calabashes of rice in the husk, and two others of millet, but no refreshment for the moment, though I stood very much in need of it, having been exposed to the sun during the hottest part of the day. To the master of the harbour, who had so opportunely supplied me with the large boats, I made a present of 1000 shells. Very little rain had fallen as yet in this neighbourhood; and a thunder-storm which broke out in the afternoon did not reach us. Indeed the air in this low valley, which is probably at a level of about 350 ft., was so oppressive, that I felt at times almost suffocated, and unable to breathe. The following morning I took a ride round the place and its neighbourhood. The shape of the town is tolerably quadrangular, being encompassed on three sides by a low rampart of earth, the side towards the river being unprotected. It is of considerable size, each side measuring about 1400 yards; but the town is only thinly inhabited, the dwellings (all of which except the house of the governor, consist of matting and reeds) lying scattered about like so many separate hamlets. It is intersected from north to south by a wide shallow depression or vale encompassed by dúm palms, which are almost the only trees either inside or outside the town; and at the end of the rainy season it becomes filled with water, causing great inconvenience to the business of the town and the intercourse between the various quarters, and greatly contributing to its unhealthiness. There can be no doubt that, in seasons when the river reaches an unusual height, the whole town is under water, the inhabitants being obliged to seek safety beyond the borders of the valley.