Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 3.djvu/393

 to the Kanuri, while the speech of those bordering on the Nifawa and Haussawa betrays certain affinities to the languages of those more polished nations. Although despised by the Mussulmans, these aborigines are often skilful artisans. The finest mats and best-baked pottery sold in the Lower Niger markets are prepared by the Afos and Bassas who dwell near the Benue confluence.

In the open plains the bulk of the population are Haussawa in the east and Nifawa (Nupé) in the west, while several towns towards the Bornu frontier are chiefly inhabited by Kanuri. The Fulah conquerors are everywhere numerically

inferior, except in a few scattered enclaves where their herds find good pasturage. Many of these Fulahs, especially towards the Upper Benue, are still pagans at a very low state of culture. In Adamawa, on the left side of the Benue, they are more numerous than in the north, in some districts forming the majority of the population. Here most of the petty states are governed by Fulah chiefs, whose language prevails in the towns. The Sani, Bula, Bassama, Mbum, Fali and other aborigines collectively known as Battas have been driven into the mountains or the forests, or else reduced to slavery. The magnificent lands of Adamawa are