I saw, as I passed through the streets of Zinder this morning, a number of slaves chained together, going to the market of Kanou; so that this place is the great central dépôt of this merchandise. These were some of the fruits of the Sarkee's last razzia.
_9th._--The morning was cool, and we started early, and made six hours and a-quarter in a general south-east direction, through a continuation of scattered forests, with open spaces, the wood being broken in upon here and there by a scanty ghaseb cultivation. Amongst the trees, some rose with giant arms and all the characters of tropical vegetation. The country was undulating, with ranges of low hills. Blocks of granite were scattered on the surface of the ground; in the deeper valleys lay stagnant water of the last rains, fast drying up; and here were water-fowls, waders, and some large, strange, black-and-white geese, with necks of enormous length.
After three hours and a-quarter we came to the considerable village of Deddegi, where, on our appearance, all the inhabitants fetching water or tending cattle ran away. This I may remark, as the first time that the people ran away at our appearance amongst them. Hitherto we have always had the population pressing upon us for curiosity, or to attack and plunder us. Things change. But the flight of the people of Deddegi is easily explained. We were soon recognised as a Bornou caravan, and the Bornouese in coming to Zinder,--the Sheikh's people especially,--have been in the habit of plundering these villages, or carrying off the people and their cattle, the former into slavery. Recently the Sarkee has complained of this, and the Sheikh, to do him justice, has ordered the Sarkee to seize any Bornouese committing these misdemeanours, and execute what justice he pleases upon them. The Sarkee, now, will not be slack to obey his master's commands. Still it is not surprising the people ran away from a Bornou caravan.
We encamped at the group of villages called Dairmu. My "gift horse" had given me most excruciating pain in riding, and I was obliged to dismount for half an hour. The saddles are very bad, and cut you raw before you are accustomed to them. But I must submit to this fatigue, for now I must ride horses and put away the camel, which is too slow for travelling in Soudan, where water and herbage are found for the horses every two or three hours.