There is some news about the Sultan of Zinder. It appears that Sarkee Ibrahim feels himself weak, and unable to conduct the government of the province prosperously, i.e. "to go on razzia;" so he wrote for his brother to come and undertake the command of the slave-hunts. The brother spoke to the Sheikh, who said "Go." But the brother said, "No, I will not go, unless you will give me the province to govern." The Sheikh replied, "Your brother will give you some town." "No," was the answer; "I will not go unless you will give me the whole province." This is now the great news in Zinder and Gurai, and was carried to the former place by two horsemen, who galloped from Kuka to Zinder in six days.
I now write the names of the sultans of the province in Arabic, before them, with a black-lead pencil. This greatly astonishes them: first, that I am able to write their names and that of the countries which they govern; and secondly, with a black-lead pencil, which they call wood.
_Names of several sorts of Fish (Buni) in Bornou._
Yogari, a large flat fish, four or five feet long, and as many broad.
Haik, one foot and a half long, three or four inches broad.
Kamudee, one foot and a half long, thick as the lower arm, and quite black.
Karwa and Kagia, species of small plaice.
The Sultan is very anxious about my personal history, and hearing that I had my wife in Tripoli, inquired if I intended to take another in this country.
I have had numberless visits all day long. The people display an intense curiosity to see the Christian, and would stop here for ever, gazing before my tent. Four sisters of the Sultan gave me a call. I taught them the use of pins, and pinned three of them together, which produced great merriment amongst the people. A Fellatah horse-dealer gave me two routes to-day; one from this (Gurai) to Sakkatou, and another from Sakkatou towards the west.[22]
A quarrel has sprung up between the Kashalla and Saïd, Haj Beshir's slave, about the road we should take from this to Kuka. The north-eastern, or direct east, is the shortest, but there are three days without habitations: this is Saïd's road. The south-eastern is the longer route, and is the Kashalla's, but there are people every day. The latter is probably the better route for me. It is decided that we leave the day after to-morrow.