Travels and discoveries in North and Central Africa, Vol. 4 (of 5) : $b being a journal of an expedition undertaken under the auspices of H.B.M.'s Government, in the years 1849-1855 — John Shaqi
Travels and discoveries in North and Central Africa, Vol. 4 (of 5) : $b being a journal of an expedition undertaken under the auspices of H.B.M.'s Government, in the years 1849-1855Barth, Heinrich
History
Travels and discoveries in North and Central Africa, Vol. 4 (of 5) : $b being a journal of an expedition undertaken under the auspices of H.B.M.'s Government, in the years 1849-1855
Barth, Heinrich
Africa, Central -- Description and travel; Africa, North -- Description and travel
The chief part of the village itself lies on the north-west side of the
plantation, on the sloping ground of the downs, while a smaller hamlet
borders the gardens on the south-west side. The plantations are very
carefully fenced, principally with the bush called mágará, which I have
mentioned on former occasions; and besides kúka or monkey-bread trees,
and kórna, or nebek, a few date palms contributed greatly to enliven the
scenery. The monkey-bread trees, however, were all of small size, and of
remarkably slender growth, such as I had not before observed, while the
public place, or “fáge,” of the smaller village was adorned by a karáge
tree of so rich a growth that it even surpassed, if not in height, at
least in the exuberance of its foliage, the finest trees of this species
which I had seen in the Músgu country.
I began my survey of this interesting locality on the south side,
following first the narrow path which separates the southern village
from the plantation, and visiting again the principal source, the rich
volume of which, gushing along between the hedges, had already excited
my surprise and delight the previous day.
This lower village cannot be very healthy, both on account of its
exuberant vegetation, and the quantity of water in which the
neighbourhood abounds; but its situation is extremely pleasant to the
eye. Keeping then close along the southern border of the plantation, I
reached the eastern edge of the western lake, which is thickly overgrown
with papyrus and melés, while, in the narrow space left between the
plantation and the lake, the baúre and the gáwasú are the common trees.
The presence of the latter at this spot seems very remarkable, as this
tree, in general, is looked for in vain in this whole region; and I
scarcely remember to have seen it again before reaching the village, a
few miles to the N.E. of Wurnó, which has thence received its name.
The papyrus covers the whole shore at the point of junction of the two
lakes, while in the water itself, where it first becomes brackish,
another kind of weed was seen, called “kumba,” the core of which is
likewise eaten by the greater part of the poorer inhabitants, and is
more esteemed than the melés. It was highly interesting to me to observe
that my young Shúwa companion, who was brought up on the shores of the
Tsád, immediately recognised, from the species of reeds, the nature of
the water on the border of which they grew, as this mixed character of
brackish and sweet water is, exactly in the same manner, peculiar to the
outlying smaller basins of that great Central African lagoon.[27]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account