and horses. Monteil reached Ségou on the upper Niger River on 14 December, the last outpost of the French in the Sudan. The countries to the east were known to be Moslem, were rumored to be rich in gold, slaves and ivory, but were uncharted territory to Europeans. Monteil set out eastwards, generally obtaining a friendly reception and signing treaties of friendship, although suffering from heat, mosquitos and lack of drinking water. The Almami of San signed a peace treaty placing the town under French protection. Monteil praised the caravan center at San, saying that transactions could be made in total security, with no duties levied on imports, exports or sales. Entering what is now Burkina Faso, Monteil wanted Wobogo, the Mogho Naba of Mossy and ruler of Ouagadougou, to agree to a French protectorate. Wobogo refused to receive him, and he was forced to make a hurried departure. He reached Dori, the capital of Liptako, on 22 May 1891, at a time when the Amiirou, Amadou Iisa, was dying, and became involved in a dispute over succession. Monteil started to negotiate a treaty with the followers of Issa, son of the Amiirou and next in line, but the Amiirous's nephew Sori managed to gain the support needed to become the next ruler. In June Monteil went on to Sebba, capital of Yagha, where after a considerable payment to the "greedy" ruler another treaty was agreed. From there he travelled via Torodi to Say, a large commercial town on the Niger River, and then onward to Sokoto via the Argungu triangle. He observed that the Kebbi Argungu Emirate was independent of the Sokoto Caliphate. This later became a point of dispute between the French and British authorities. Further, he found little evidence that the Royal Niger Company was present in the region as claimed, apart from some trading posts in the Gwandu Emirate to the south of Argundu. Monteil was welcomed by the Caliph of Sokoto, Abd ar-Rahman dan Abi Bakar, who at the time was engaged in a war with the Emir of Argungu. He signed a treaty with the Caliph on 28 October 1891, and presented him with silks, brocades, embroidered caftans and money. He said the state of the Caliphate was precarious when he visited, but may have overestimated the combined effects of the war and the recent accession of an unpopular ruler. Shortly after Monteil left,