Proceeding in a north-westerly direction through this hilly country, and leaving at a short distance on our right a higher eminence, at the western foot of which the village of New Búne is situated, we descended considerably into a hollow of clayey soil of a most peculiar character. For all of a sudden an isolated date palm started up on our right, while on our left the unwonted aspect of a tall slender gónda, or _Erica Papaya_, attracted our attention, the intermediate ground being occupied by a rich plantation of cotton. Suddenly a large “sirge” or lake of natron of snowy whiteness, extending from the foot of the height which towers over Búne, approached on our right,—the rich vegetation which girded its border, along which the path led, forming a very remarkable contrast to the barrenness of the “sirge”; for the whole surface of the basin, which at present did not contain a drop of water, was formed of natron, while people were busy digging saltpetre, from pits about six feet deep and one foot and a half in diameter, on its very border. A short distance off, fresh water is to be found close under the surface, giving life to the vegetation, which bears a character so entirely new in this district; and I gazed with delight on the rich scenery around, which presented such a remarkable contrast to the monotonous plains of Bórnu. Wide-spreading tamarind trees shaded large tracts of ground, while detached date palms, few and far between, raised their feathery foliage like a fan over the surrounding country. The ground was clothed, besides, with “retem,” or broom, and dúm bush, with the _Tamarix gallica_, or “tarfa,” which I scarcely remember to have seen in any other spot during the whole of my travels in Negroland. Ascending from the clayey soil on a sandy bottom, we reached the western foot of the eminence of Old Búne, which is built in a recess of the rocky cliffs on the western slope of the mount. But the village, which has already suffered greatly by the foundation of New Búne at so short a distance, and which is important only as the residence of Yegúddi, the eldest son of Múniyóma, had been almost destroyed some time before by a great conflagration, with the exception of the clay dwelling of the governor, situated at the foot of the cliffs. It was just rebuilding,—only the déndal (or principal street) being as yet fit for habitation, while the rest of the place wore a very cheerless aspect. [Illustration: Drawn by J. M. Bernatz, from a Sketch by Dr. Barth. M. & N. Hanhart, lith. et impt. SALT LAKE NEAR BÚNE. Decr. 14th. 1852.]