Page:Works of Jules Verne - Parke - Vol 1.djvu/370

 At length a true river greeted the eyes of the travelers, and by the immense ant-hills which bordered it, the doctor recognized the Benoué, one of the great tributaries of the Niger, that which the natives have named the "Source of Waters."

"This river," said the doctor to his companions, "will one day become the natural channel of communication with the interior of Nigritia. Under the command of one of our brave captains, the Pleiad advanced as far as the town of Yola. You see that we are in a known country."

Numerous slaves were employed in tilling the fields, cultivating the "sorgho," a species of millet which forms the staple food of the community. The most stupid astonishment was apparent as the "Victoria" passed like a meteor. In the evening our travelers stopped at forty miles from Yola, and in front, but at a distance, the two sharp peaks of the Mount Mendif raised themselves.

The doctor threw out the grapnels, and they caught in the summit of a high tree, but the high wind bent the "Victoria" down almost horizontally, and rendered the position of the car very dangerous.

Ferguson did not close his eyes all night, he was frequently on the point of cutting the cable and flying before the hurricane. At last the storm lulled and the oscillations of the balloon were no longer alarming.

Next day the wind was more moderate, but it carried the travelers beyond the town of Yola, which, newly built by the Foulannes, had excited the curiosity of Ferguson. Nevertheless he was obliged to resign himself to be carried to the north, and even a little to the east.

Kennedy suggested a halt for hunting purposes. Joe pretended that the want of fresh meat was beginning to be felt; but the savage customs of the country, the attitude of the population, some shots sent in the direction of the "Victoria," all determined the doctor to continue his journey. They then crossed a region—a theater of massacres and burnings, where fighting is incessant, and in which the sultans rule their kingdoms in the midst of the most horrible slaughter.

Numerous and populous villages, composed of long huts, appeared between splendid pastures, of which the thick grass was mixed with violet blossoms; the huts resembled