Identifier: travelsdiscoveri02bart (find matches)
Title: Travels and discoveries in North and Central Africa. From the journal of an expedition undertaken under the auspices of H.B.M.'s government, in the years 1849-1855
Year: 1859 (1850s)
Authors: Barth, Heinrich, 1821-1865
Subjects:
Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Bradley
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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early hour; and after a march of a littleless than two hours, through a rocky wilderness covered withdense bushes, I obtained the first sight of the river, and in lessthan an hour more, during which I was in constant sight ofthis noble spectacle, I reached the place of embarkation, oppo-site the town of Say. In a noble unbroken stream, though here, where it hasbecome contracted, only about 700 yards broad, hemmed in onthis side by a rocky bank of from twenty to thirty feet in eleva-tion, the great river of Western Africa (whose name, underwhatever form it may appear, whether Dhiuliba, Mayo, Eghir-reu, Isa, Kwara, or Baki-n-riiwa, means nothing but theriver, and which therefore may well continue to be called theNiger) was gliding along, in a N. N. E. and S. S. W. direc-tion, with a moderate current of about three miles an hour.On the flatter shore opposite, a large town was spreading out,the low rampart and huts of which were picturesquely over-topped by numbers of slender diim palms.
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mm Mjusiiii (SS2) CROSS THE RIVER, 383 This is the river-town, or ford, the name Say meaning,in this eastern dialect, the river. The Fiilbe call it Grhiitil,which name may originally have been applied to the ford atthe island of Oitilli. The banks at present were not high ;but the river, as it rises, approaches the very border of therocky slope. I had sent a messenger in advance, the preceding day, inorder to have some large boats ready for me to cross the river.But no boat having arrived, I had plenty of leisure for contem-plating the river scenery, which is represented in the plate op-posite. There were a good number of passengers, Fiilbe andSonghay, with asses and pack-oxen, and there were somesmaller boats in readiness suitable to their wants ; but at lengththe boats, or rather canoes, which were to carry me and myeffects across, made their appearance. They were of good size,about forty feet in length, and from four to five feet in widthin the middle, consisting of two trunks of t

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