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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while the sheikh had twelve; but thisappeared to me a small number when I afterward saw the Kingof Bagirmi returning from the expedition with a string of forty-five mounted female partners. These black damsels were allclothed in white woolen bernuses, with their faces completelyveiled, and were closely watched. Tuesday, December 23d. Three heavy strokes upon thedrum, at the dawn of day, set our motley host once more inmotion. It was an important day, and many of the principalpeople had exchanged their common dress for a more splendidattire. We entered the Miisgu country, and at the same timecame into contact with fragments of that nation who, havingspread from the far west over one half of Africa, are restlesslypushing forward and overwhelming the pagan tribes in theinterior. These are the Fiilbe or Fellata, the most interestingof all African tribes, who, having been driven from Bdrnn,have here laid the foundation of a new empire. Twice on our march we were obliged to make a halt: the
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~rpsf\^ (266) THE MTJSQU CHIEF. 267 first time owing to the arrival of Adishen, the Miisgu chief,with a troop of naked horsemen mounted on a breed of small,unseemly, but strong ponies, without saddles and bridles, andpresenting altogether a most barbarous and savage spectacle.The second halt was caused by the appearance of a Piillo orFellata chief, with two hundred horsemen of his nation, who,by their shirts and shawls, their saddles and bridles, certainlyclaimed a higher degree of civilization, but who, nevertheless,were far from exhibiting a grand appearance. The chief wasan officer of Khiirsu, the ruler of the town or principality ofFette or Pette, which we had left at a short distance to thewest. He came to join this expedition, the object of whichwas to weaken the Miisgu tribes, who, behind their natural de-fences of rivers and swamps, had hitherto been able to maintaintheir independence. Of course, on this occasion the policy of these Fiilbe chiefswent hand in hand with that of

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