Having enjoyed the scenery for some time, I went with my young Shúwa lad, in order to obtain a sight of the river, of which as yet I had seen nothing here. Emerging from the fine group of trees, I found that only a very small creek without an outlet at the present season, closely approached the town, while an extensive swampy lowland extended far into the river. But for several months in the year this lowland is inundated, with the exception, perhaps, of a few spots which rise to a greater height, and are adorned with talha trees. At present the name of Gʿawó is given not only to the site of the former capital, but also to the island, and even to the opposite shore of Áribínda; and I once supposed, that the chief part of the town was situated on the island, but this does not appear to have been the case; neither does it appear to have stood on the western bank. The fact is that in former times there were two distinct quarters of Gógó, the quarter of the idolaters on the western bank towards Gúrma, and the royal and Mohammedan quarter on the eastern bank towards Egypt, whence Islám, with its accompanying civilization, had been introduced. In the course of time the latter quarter would gain over the former, which from the beginning, when pagan worship was prevalent, was no doubt the more considerable. Even at present, when all this ground was left dry by the retiring waters and formed a rich grassy island, only a few huts were seen on the island, as well as on the shore of Áribínda. But the present inhabitants appear scarcely to be in want of the river, for only a single seaworthy boat was to be seen, and four others out of repair were lying on the shore. The natives, when I expressed my astonishment at the miserable state of their craft, complained that they had no wood for building boats. Between the huts and the little creek, which by means of a northerly branch serves to irrigate the rice-fields, there is a tobacco plantation. It is here that the finest trees are grouped together, and I now observed, that besides from twenty to twenty-five date palms, which were just full of fruit, bordering upon ripeness, there were two or three dúm-palms.