BEGHARIII, or BAatit'att, a country in Central Africa, bounded on the n. by lake Tsad; OR the w. by the Shari, or Great river, which divides it from the kingdom of liornou; and on the e. by the W*day kingdom. It extends southward to about lat. 10' north. Its greatest length is about 240 m., and its breadth 150. The whole of B. proper is flat, with a slight inclination towards the n.—its general elevation being about 1000 ft. above the level of the sea. The outlying provinces in the s.e. are slightly mountainous. B. has three considerable rivers flowing through and along its borders— the 136nuwe, Logan, and Shari; the last of which, augmented by the Logan, is upwards of 600 yards across at Mole. There is, in general, however, the utmost scarcity of water in the country, and the inhabitants guard their wells with jealous care. The soil is partly composed of sand, and partly of lime, and produces the grain and fruit com mon to countries of Central Africa. Worms and ants are very destructive to the crops. The ants appear to be a perfect pest. Dr. Barth describes them as eating through his matting and carpeting, and be had the utmost difficulty in preserving his goods from / entire destruction by them. The total population is about a million and a half. From
the nurnerous deserted villages with which the traveler constantly meets, the population would appear to have been ranch greater at one time. Mohammedanism has been intro duced among them, but many are still pagans, and all are grossly superstitious. The only industrial arts are wearing and dyeing. Physically, they are a flue race of people, superior to the tribes around them, the women being handsome. The men are subject to a peculiar disease in the little toe, called " inukardam." It seems to be caused by a worm, which eats the toe away. One in ten of the male population are said to have lost their little toes through this cause. The sultan is absolute in his own dominions, and several smaller states are tributary to him; and he, in his turn, is tribu tary to the more powerful ruler of Bornou. The fighting-force of the kingdom is about 13,0(0 nice. Masena (q.v.), the capital, has a circumference of about 7 miles.—Barth's TrareLy in Central Africa.