of wild ducks and geese, birds
with beautiful plumage were feeding on the margin of the lake, pelicans,
cranes, immense white spoonbills, yellow-legged plover--all were
dwelling undisturbed in this peaceful spot. And this most remarkable
lake lay eight hundred feet above the Atlantic, between the watersheds
of Nile, Niger, and Congo.

But Lake Tchad was not their goal; they must push on over new country
where no European had been before. A fortnight later they reached
Kukawa, the capital of Bornu, once a great Mohammedan empire. "We were
about to become acquainted with a people who had never seen or scarcely
heard of a European," says Denham, "and to tread on ground, the
knowledge and true situation of which had hitherto been wholly unknown.
We advanced towards the town of Kuka in a most interesting state of
uncertainty, whether we should find its chief at the head of thousands,
or be received by him under a tree, surrounded by a few naked slaves."

Their doubts were soon set at rest by the sight of several thousand
cavalry, drawn up in line. They were received by an Arab general, "a
negro of noble aspect, dressed in a figured silk robe and mounted on
a beautiful horse." They had passed from the region of hidden huts
to one of great walled cities, from the naked pagan to the cultivated
follower of Mohammed, from superstition to mosques and schools, from
ignorance to knowledge. The Sheikh, who received the travellers in
a small room with armed negroes on either side, asked the reason of
their long and painful journey across the desert. "To see the country,"
answered the Englishmen, "and to give an account of its inhabitants,
produce, and appearance, as our sultan was desirous of knowing every
part of the globe."

[Illustration: MAJOR DENHAM AND HIS PARTY RECEIVED BY THE SHEIKH OF
BORNU. From a drawing by Major Denham.]

The Sheikh's hospitality was overwhelming; he had huts built for them,
"which," says Denham, "were so crowded with visitors that we had not
a moment's peace, and the heat was insufferable." He sent presents
of bullocks, camel-loads of wheat and rice, leather skins of butter,
jars, and honey. The market of Kuka was famous. It was attended by
some fifteen thousand persons from all parts, and the produce sold
there was astonishing. Here Clapperton and Dr. Oudney stayed all
through the summer months, for both were ill, and Oudney was growing
rapidly worse. Denham meanwhile went off on exploring expeditio