[Illustration: Drawn by J. M. Bernatz, from a Sketch by Dr. Barth. M. & N. Hanhart, lith. et impt. BÚWA KOLÓSSO. Decr. 15th. 1852.] Among the animals there were some excellent she-camels, which, as evening advanced, were crying and eagerly looking out for their young ones, that had been left in the surrounding villages. The inhabitants, who treated us hospitably, seemed to be tolerably well off; and the feasting in my little encampment continued almost the whole night long. [Sidenote: Thursday, December 16th.] With the greater eagerness we started early in the morning, in order to reach the capital of this little hilly country, which forms a very sharp wedge or triangle of considerable length, projecting from the heart of Negroland towards the border of the desert, and exhibiting fixed settlements and a tolerably well-arranged government, in contrast to the turbulent districts of nomadic encampments. Our direction meanwhile remained the same as on the preceding day, being mostly a north-easterly one. The situation of this province, as laid down from my route upon the map, seems very remarkable; but we must not forget that in ancient times, during the flourishing period of the empire of Bórnu, the whole country between this advanced spur and Kánem formed populous provinces subjected to the same government, and that it is only since the middle of the last century that, the Berbers or Tawárek having politically separated entirely from the Kanúri, the whole eastern part of these northern provinces has been laid waste and depopulated, while the energetic rulers of the province of Múniyó have not only succeeded in defending their little territory, but have even extended it in a certain degree, encroaching little by little upon the neighbouring province of Díggera, a tribe of the Tawárek, whom I have mentioned on a former occasion.[21] The country in general preserved the same character as on the previous day,—the narrow vales and glens inclosed by the granitic eminences being well cultivated, and studded with small hamlets, in some of which the huts approached the architecture usual in Kánem. Several troops of natives met us on the road, with pack-oxen, over the backs of which large baskets were thrown by means of a sort of network; they were returning from the capital, having delivered their quota of the ʿashúr or “kúngona máibe.” The system of tax-paying in these western provinces is very different from that usual in Bórnu Proper, as I shall soon have another opportunity of relating.