give him. A son of Sultan Bello, named Abdelgader, also paid me a visit. He returns, early to-morrow morning, to Sackatoo. Feb. 15.—This afternoon I ascended the eastern mount (one of the two already described) to take an eye sketch of the plan of the town, which, as nearly as I could guess it, may be represented as under. By way of precaution, I was accompanied by Hat Salah’s eldest son, to prevent the people fancying I was going to perform some magical feat. On the eastern side of the mount, the young man gravely pointed out to me the print of the foot of the she-camel on which the Prophet rode to heaven. I t was certainly very like the print of a camel’s foot, only much larger, and seemed to be a hole where two stones had been picked out. I asked my companion, if the prophet’s naga, or she-camel, had only one leg. “ Oh !” said he, “ it had four.” Where are the other three? “ Oh !” he replied, “ God has done it:” an unanswerable argument, which with them settles all points of religious controversy. He added, “ All the faithful of Soudan believe in the truth of this story.” The mount I found to consist of strata of clay iron-stone, and conglomerate, lying on a bed of soft light clay, apparently mixed with vegetable remains. Feb. 16.—Early this morning two massi dubu, or jugglers, came to my door. Two snakes were let out of a bag, when one of the jugglers began to beat a little drum. The snakes immediately reared themselves on their tail, and made a kind of sham dance. The juggler afterwards played various tricks with them, sometimes wreathing them round his neck, coiling them in his bosom, or throwing them among the people. On pointing his finger at their mouth, they immediately raised themselves up in an attitude to spring forward ; but after having exasperated them to the utmost, he had only to spit in their face to make them retreat quite crestfallen. I measured one of them: it was six feet three inches long; the head large, flat, and blunted, and, along the neck, a kind of gills fully two inches in breadth, and five inches in length, which they elevated when angry. The back and belly were of a dull white, and the sides of a dark lead colour. Between the gills there were five red stripes across the throat, decreasing in size from the mouth downwards. The venomous fangs had been extracted; but still, to guard against all possible injury, the fellow who played tricks with them had a large roll of cloth wound round the right arm. Their bite is said to be mortal, and to prove fatal to a horse or a cow in half an hour. Having heard a great deal of the boxers of Haussa, I was anxious to witness their performance. Accordingly I sent one of my servants last night to offer 2000 whydah for a pugilistic exhibition in the morning. As the death of one of the combatants is almost certain before a battle is over, I expressly prohibited all fighting in earnest; for it would have been disgraceful, both to myself and my country, to hire men to kill one another for the gratification of idle curiosity. About half an hour after the massi dubu were gone, the boxers arrived, attended by two drums, and the whole body of butchers, who
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