. Ibrahimawa, the Bornu man,, alias “ Sinbad the
Sailor,” tbe. great traveller, amuses and bores me daily
witb bis long and wonderful stories of bis travels.
The style of his narratives may be- conjectured from
the following extracts ; “ There was a country adjoining
Bomu, where the king was so fat and heavy that he
could not walk, until the doctors opened his belly and
cut the fa t out, which operation was repeated annually.”
He described another country as a perfect Paradise,
where no one ever drank anything so inferior as water.
This country was so wealthy that the poorest man
could drink merissa (beer). He illustrated the general
intoxication by saying, that “ after 3 p .m . no one was
sober throughout the country, and from that hour the
cows, goats, and fowls were all drunk, as they drank
the merissa left in the jars by their owners, who were
all asleep.”
He knew all about England, having been a servant
on a Turkish frigate that was sent to Gravesend. He
described an evening entertainment most vividly. He
had been to a ball at an “ English Pasha’s in Black-
wall,” and had succeeded wonderfully with some
eharming English ladies excessively “ décolleté,” upon
whom he felt sure he had left a lasting impression,
as several had fallen in love with him on the spot,
supposing him to be a Pasha.
Such were instances of life and recollections of
Ibrahimawa, the Bornu.
On June 16, Koorshid’s people returned from Obbo.
Ibrahim and a few men had remained there, and distrusting
the warlike spirit of the Latookas, he now
recalled the entire establishment from Tarrangolle, intending
to make a station at the more peaceful country
of Obbo. An extract from my journal on that day
explains my feelings : “ This is most annoying; I had
arranged my camp and garden, &c. for the wet season,
and I must now leave everything, as it is impossible
to remain in this country with my small force
alone; the natives have, become so bad (since the-
cattle razzia) that a considerable armed party is
obliged to go to the stream for water. I t is remarkably
pleasant travelling in the vicinity of the traders;
they convert every country into a wasp’s n e st;—-
they have neither plan of action nor determination,
and I, being unfortunately dependent upon their movements,
am more like a donkey than an explorer,
that is saddled and ridden away at a moment’s
notice. About sixty natives of Obbo accompanied
the men sent by Ibrahim to carry the effects;—I
require at least fifty, as so many of my transport
a n im a l s are dead.” Nothing can exceed the laziness
and dogged indolence of my men; I have only four