Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 3.djvu/375

 raised on the surrounding plain, which has been called the "Garden of Sudan." Other products of the highly developed household industries, such as shoes, sandals, leather pouches, are exported far and wide, and large quantities of cereals, after supplying the local wants, are also available for the foreign markets.

East of Kano the most important places depending politically on Haussa are Gerki, near the Bornu frontier, and Katagum on the river of like name flowing intermittently to the Yeu. On the water-parting near the Niger and Tsad basins to the west of Kano lies the picturesque town of Kammané, one of the most industrious in Haussa, producing cotton stuffs highly esteemed for their durability and remarkably bright colours. Surmi, capital of Sanfara, near the source of the Sokoto, is still a populous place, although it has suffered much from its constant feuds with its rival Maradi, capital of Gober. Farther west, on the route to Sokoto,

follow Duchi, lost amid a labyrinth of rocks; Sansané Aïssa, one of the strongest places in the empire; Alkalawa, formerly capital of Gober, on the banks of the Sokoto at the northern verge of the dense forest of Gundumi; lastly, Konni, one of the chief places in Gober, two days to the north-west.

Wurno, present residence of the Seriki n'Musulmya, or "Sovereign of the Mussulmans," occupies a splendid site on an isolated sandstone bluff rising 130 feet above the surrounding valleys. At its northern foot flows the river which is formed by the confluence of the Surmi and Maradi, and which lower down takes the name of Sokoto, from the city which preceded Wurno as the capital of the Fulah empire. Like Wurno, Sokofo stands on a sandstone rock overlooking a valley watered by a perennial stream. This river, which flows eastwards, is the Gandi or Bakura, so named from two important towns on its banks, A little to