I made an interesting day’s march to Mírriya, another locality of the province Demágherim, greatly favoured by nature. The first part of our road was rather hilly, or even mountainous, a promontory of considerable elevation jutting out into the more open country from S.E., and forming in the whole district a well-marked boundary. The village Hándará, which lies at the foot of a higher mountain bearing the same name, and which we reached after a march of about two miles, was most charmingly situated, spreading out in several straggling groups on the slopes of the hills, and exhibiting a far greater appearance of prosperity than Badamúni. It was highly interesting to take a peep on horseback at the busy scenes which the courtyards exhibited. Poultry was here in great abundance. While descending from the village, we crossed a beautiful ravine enlivened by a spring, and adorned by a few detached groups of date and deléb palms spreading their feathery foliage by the side of the dúm palms. Leaving then a cotton plantation, stretching out where the ravine widened, we ascended the higher ground, our route lying now through cultivated ground, at other times through forest; and after a march of about fourteen miles, we crossed a kind of shallow vale, richly adorned with vegetation, and bordered towards the north by sandy downs, over which lies the direct route to Zínder. A little lower down this valley we passed a small village called Potoró, distinguished by the extent of its cotton plantations. Along the lower grounds a few date trees form a beautiful fringe to this little oasis; here, also, springs seemed to be plentiful, and large ponds of water were formed. Four miles beyond this place we reached the wall of the town of Mírriya, which was beautifully adorned with large tamarind trees. This town had been once a large place, and the capital of the whole western province of Bórnu. But when the town of Zínder was founded, about twenty-five years previously, by Slímán the father of the present governor Ibrám, Mírriya began to decline, and the chief of this territory fell into a certain degree of dependence upon the governor of Zínder. At the north side of the town there is an extensive district cultivated with cotton and wheat, and irrigated likewise by springs which ooze forth from the sandy downs; besides a few date trees, a group of slender feathery- leaved gónda overshadowed the plantation, and gave it an uncommonly attractive character. Having proceeded in advance of my camels, which had followed for some time another path, I had to wait till long after sunset before they came up, and, while resting in the open air, received a visit from the governor of the town, who, in true Háusa fashion, arrived well dressed and mounted, with a numerous train of men on horseback and on foot, singing men, and musicians. [Sidenote: Saturday, December 25th.]