We made a long stretch, on account of the scarcity of water, passing the large village of Shabáre, which attracted our attention from the distance by the beating of drums, but could not supply us with a sufficient quantity of water,—its well measuring twenty-five fathoms in depth, and nevertheless being almost dry; and thus we proceeded till we reached Maíjirgí, after a march of almost twenty-five miles. The village is named from a _troughlike_[31] depression, on the slope of which it is situated, and which, towards the south, contains a considerable grove of dúm palms. We encamped close to the well, which is fourteen fathoms deep, at some distance from the village, which has a tolerably comfortable appearance, although it had been ransacked two years before by the governor of Kátsena; but, in these regions, dwelling-places are as easily restored as they are destroyed. The inhabitants are notorious for their thievish propensities; and we had to take precautions accordingly. The whole of this country is rich in beans; and we bought plenty of dried bean-tressels, which are made up in small bundles, and called “haráwa” by the Arabs, affording most excellent food for the camels. [Sidenote: Wednesday, February 2nd.] Several native travellers had attached themselves to my troop. Amongst them was an abominable slave-dealer who was continually beating his poor victims. I was extremely glad to get rid of this man here, he, as well as the other people, being bound for Tasáwa, which I was to leave at some distance on my right. While my people were loading the camels, I roved about, making a very pleasant promenade along the vale, which was richly adorned with dúm palms. Having set out at length, keeping a little too much towards the west, and crossing the great highroad which comes from Tasáwa, we passed several villages on our road, while dúm palms and tamarind trees enlivened the country where the ground was not cultivated, but especially the many small and irregular hollows which we traversed. Having lost one of our camels, which died on the road, we encamped near a village (the name of which, by accident, I did not learn) situated in a large vale rich in dúm palms, and encompassed on the east side by a regular ridge of sandhills of considerable height. Rice was cultivated in the beds beside the onions, while wheat, which is generally raised in this way, was not grown at all. As I have frequently observed, there is no rice cultivated in the whole of Bórnu,—this village constituting, I think, the easternmost limit of the cultivation of this most important article of food, which is the chief staff of life in the whole of Kébbi and along the Niger. The wells in this valley were only three feet deep, and richly provided with water; and the whole vale was altogether remarkable. [Sidenote: Thursday, February 3rd.]