THE FRENCH CONQUEST
Up to the last moment England endeavoured to put her hand upon the
commerce of Timbuctoo. Failing in her efforts from Tripoli and the
Niger’s mouth, she attempted to secure a footing by way of Morocco,
and was installed towards 1890 at Cape Juby. It was then too late.
Our columns and posts had been slowly advancing by the Senegal route
advocated by Colbert, and in 1893 Colonel Archinard took Jenne, the
last halting-place but one. The following year we were at Timbuctoo,
and Cape Juby was evacuated.
Whatever may have been said at the time, the occupation of Timbuctoo
was not only necessary, but had to be effected with the least possible
delay. No one can complain now that we have not made known the history
of these people and their country. The prosperity of the Sudan is
so closely connected with that of its principal market, that if the
general anarchy had been prolonged in Timbuctoo all the sacrifices of
human life and money we had made on her threshold would have remained
sterile. The sooner an end was put to the ruinous dominion of the
Touaregs the better would it be. What would have become of the town if
the French occupation had been prevented? We can easily picture the
scene: the Touaregs would assemble and unite with Kountas, Foulbes, and
Moors, as they did thirty years ago against the Toucouleurs at the
instigation of El Backay. The routes from Morocco, Tuat, and Tripoli
would have left the Sudan (that enormous country which we occupy with
such modest means) open to foreign intrigues, to the introduction of
arms and ammunition, and to fanatics led by some inspired marabut,
to a second El Hadj Omar returned from Mecca, or to some Mahdi come
from Tuat. The result of long years of struggle and effort would
be destroyed in a few months, our patient work of regeneration and
pacification would be hopelessly compromised, and the flames of revolt
which would break out in Timbuctoo would rapidly spread to Algeria. The
seat of so many perils, the key to all the routes of the Sahara and
Sudan, must be in our hands as soon as possible.
These dangers were dissipated by the promptitude of our march on
Timbuctoo. All homage to Colonel Archinard, who knew so well the
country and people with whom he had to deal. By his alacrity the
colony was spared fresh convulsions and the capital great sacrifices.
No sooner was Jenne taken, than, with remarkable intuition, he traced
the plan of the succeeding campaign. A forced march was to be made
on Timbuctoo to prevent any concentration of the nomads, one column
traversing the countries on the left bank of the Niger, another
advancing by means of the river as the gunboats cleared the passage.
Such were the tactics pursued at the end of 1894. Colonel Bonnier
conducted one of the columns, Colonel Jouffre the second, while
Lieutenant Boiteux commanded the flotilla. Unfortunately Colonel
Archinard was not there to conduct the campaign; had he been, the
unfortunate episodes which marred its execution would probably have
been averted.
I am now going to show the taking of Timbuctoo in a new light, as it
appeared to the inhabitants. They related it to me as the old Sudanese
chroniclers, whose art is unhappily lost, might have done.
* * * * *
From the beginning of November 1894 vague rumours were afloat in
Timbuctoo, reports of a mustering of troops at Segu. The country
being quiet on their side, the inhabitants conjectured it to be some
expedition preparing for the north. Three weeks passed without any
news, and then suddenly events took shape. A merchant, who arrived from
the south, announced that the gunboats had reached Sarafara and were
preparing to start for Kabara. They had taken on board, as pilots, two
of the leading merchants of Timbuctoo, who were in exile at Sarafara,
having been ruined by the Touaregs. The next day news came of the
arrival of the flotilla at Koriouma.
A body of Tenguaragif Touaregs were in Timbuctoo, and they summoned
Hamdia, the chief of the town, and ordered him to have the tabala
(war drum) sounded, and to command the people to take up arms. The
excitement was great, the population being divided between fear of the
French and terror of the Touaregs; some of the notables remonstrated
with Hamdia, and the Kountas alone showed any courage. However, all
those who had not hidden themselves in time had to set out in company
with the veiled men. This small army, of which the Touaregs formed the
cavalry, was armed with lances and javelins, and a few rifles belonging
chiefly to the Kountas.
As this army was marching to Kabara on the morning of December 5th,
the flotilla had left Koriouma, and was ascending the Pool to Dai.
There Commandant Boiteux and some Laptots (black sailors) disembarked
in a lighter to reconnoitre the route to Kabara, and gather sufficient
information to acquaint the two columns with the situation when they
should arrive. But an incident occurred which upset their intended
plans, and hastened the capture of Timbuctoo in an unforeseen manner.
The approach of the lighter having been signalled at Kabara, the
Touaregs and Timbuctooans assembled on the banks, silent and immovable.
When the lighter appeared in sight a cloud of lances and javelins
greeted it, the Kountas discharged their guns, and a general uproar
took place. Only one shot carried, wounding a laptot; the rest had time
to escape the javelins by crouching at the bottom of the boat. They
replied with a volley which wounded several, killed one, and put all to
flight, the Touaregs to the desert, and the Timbuctooans back to their
city.
A few hours later the gunboats and lighters anchored in the harbour of
Kabara.
* * * * *
At Timbuctoo the authorities held council during the night. ‘What is to
be done’? asked Hamdia, the chief.
‘Listen to my words and thought,’ replied the kadi. ‘You must write a
letter to the commander, and say, “It is not we who are responsible
for what has happened at Kabara but the Touaregs, whom we fear. We,
the people of Timbuctoo, are not opposed to your arrival here, for you
hold the countries from which we draw our commerce and alimentation. We
place ourselves in your hands.” This is my advice.’
‘I am afraid to do that,’ replied Hamdia. ‘The Touaregs insulted me
this morning by saying that we had written to the white men asking them
to come. They know that some of our people are on their side.’
‘The Touaregs do us nothing but harm: why listen to them?’ replied the
kadi. ‘We had better send a letter to Kabara.’
‘But the road is guarded. Our messengers would be taken and killed.’
‘You can get to Kabara by other than the main route.’
‘So be it,’ said Hamdia finally. ‘Let us do as you say.’
The kadi drew up the letter, and wrote to the commander as follows:--
[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF FORT BONNIER]
‘We would have you to know that what took place this morning was done
without our sanction. We only took part under compulsion from the
Touaregs, and we fled as soon as we could. Our united resolution was
this. When, a month ago, we learnt of the arrival of your troops at
Segu, some Arab merchants counselled us to write to our former master,
the Sultan of Morocco, and ask him what we were to do if the white men
came. The messengers set out for Fez with a caravan. The route is long,
and they have not yet returned. We are women. We do not fight.’
Two messengers, who were bribed with a hundred yards of white linen to
go to Kabara, immediately set out. Before sunrise they returned. One of
the Timbuctooans, who accompanied the gunboats, had read and translated
the kadi’s letter to the white man’s interpreter, and then written the
following answer in the commandant’s name:--
‘I know that all the mounted men and those armed with lances were
Touaregs, but those who had guns were natives of Timbuctoo. Why did you
attack us before you knew what we wished? It is not thus you should
receive people with whose intentions you are not acquainted. Ours were
for your good. But what is past is past; to-morrow send some of your
chiefs for a palaver.’
Early in the morning of the next day the Touaregs returned to
Timbuctoo. They were questioned by one of the notables, Alpha Saidou,
the chief of the Ghingaraber quarter.
‘We pay you taxes, therefore you ought to defend us. Here are the white
men. What do you intend doing?’
‘Do as you like,’ they replied. ‘The Tenguaragifs are not the only
masters here. Other tribes share the tax with us, and our people ought
not to be the only ones to be slaughtered. Besides, we have just
learned that a column is coming from the west, the Gundam quarter,
where our flocks and wives are. We want to protect them, and we are
going.’
The Touaregs having left the town, the chiefs and notables assembled
in the mosque of Sidi Yaia after the sunset prayer. They decided to
accede to the commandant’s wish, and two delegates were chosen. The
letter which accredited them repeated that they were merchants and not
combatants, and that if the commandant would wait for the sultan’s
answer all would be well; but if not, he was at liberty to do just
what he pleased; he would not be opposed by the people. However, the
delegates came back; one, a Tripolitan chosen by the Arab merchants,
would not do. The commandant, would not treat with a stranger, but
only with the natives. He was replaced by an influential marabut,
Mohaman Kouti, the other delegate being Alpha Saidou. From that time
negotiations opened very amicably with Kabara, the delegates frankly
explaining the situation and announcing the exodus of the Touaregs. The
commandant received them courteously, told them that two armies were
following him up, and demanded that a treaty of peace should be signed
by the chief and authorities of the town placing the country under
the protectorate of France. But no one in Timbuctoo dared give his
signature. The town was dismayed, every one feared the return of the
Touaregs, knowing that in that case his signature would cost him his
head.
According to a local legend, the Niger has an exceptionally high
and early rise in those years when some remarkable event, generally
sinister, is to take place, such as war, epidemic, or famine. For
thirty years no one remembered to have seen so much water in the pool
that winds from Kabara to Timbuctoo. M. Boiteux decided to hasten the
negotiations, and arrived at Timbuctoo, by means of the pool of Kabara,
with two lighters armed with revolving guns, borrowed from the gunboats.
And thus it was that Timbuctoo, a town nearly eight hundred miles from
the sea--a town of the Sahara, moreover,--was taken by sailors, thus
equalling the feat of Jourdan’s Hussars, who took possession of the
Dutch fleet among the ice of the Zuyder Zee.
* * * * *
It was December 15th. The evening before, the two delegates had been
sent back to Timbuctoo to prepare it for the events which were to
follow. During the night, the lighters, manned by eighteen men, had
crossed the sands without hindrance, and were before Timbuctoo by the
morning. On hearing this, some forty of the besieged, Foulbes and
Kountas mostly, took up arms; but the authorities compelled them to put
them down, threatening to stir up the mob against them if they did not.
The chiefs then proceeded to the banks of the pool, taking with them
gifts of welcome. ‘Are you bringing me the treaty of peace I demanded?’
asked Commandant Boiteux. ‘No,’ the chief replied, ‘for we only heard
of your arrival last night.’ ‘Then I cannot accept your gifts,’ said M.
Boiteux, ‘and I have nothing further to say to you. You know my wish; I
made it known to your two envoys.’
As the deputation retired one of the guns was landed and planted on a
neighbouring dune, which was rapidly transformed into a redoubt; the
other was left on board the lighter, to cover any eventual retreat.
The presence of the little troop, and, above all, the two cannon (whose
terrible power was known to them), reassured the authorities as to the
return of the Touaregs, and gave them courage for a final resolution.
They assembled their notables and marabuts at the mosque, and, the
three o’clock prayer having been recited, Kouati, the most influential
marabut, stood up and said, ‘What have you all to say?’
‘But what have you to say?’ the assembly replied.
‘I? Oh, I am not one of the authorities.’
‘Certainly. But you are a marabut, you have the word of God. Speak!
speak!’
‘This is my thought,’ Kouati then said. ‘All those who will not make
peace will be responsible in the Judgment Day for the souls of those
who get killed.’
‘We will do as you counsel us.’
‘I am not the only marabut in Timbuctoo,’ Kouati objected.
‘Question my brethren.’
‘What Mohaman Kouati says is true,’ opined the brethren.
‘It is well,’ concluded Kouati. ‘I am going to make peace with the
French.’
And then he went to the lighters with Alpha Saidou, who had accompanied
him to Kabara, and said to the commandant, ‘We ask for peace. We will
accept it, and do all you wish. Henceforth we are with you.’
‘Your decision gives me much pleasure,’ M. Boiteux assured them. ‘We do
not like making war, we prefer peace. It was the Toucouleurs who first
fired at Jenne; had it not been for that, we should not have fired a
shot. In future, you have nothing to fear. Sign the treaty by which you
recognise the French as masters of the town, and I, on my side, will
sign one which will place you under our protection.’
The next morning, the two treaties having been exchanged in the
presence of the chiefs and marabuts, they implored the commandant to
enter and occupy the town, explaining their fear of reprisals from
the Touaregs, and assuring him that henceforth he could in all things
count upon them. They loyally informed him that the besieged had taken
up arms, and they undertook to keep them under surveillance, and to
acquaint him with all that went on inside and outside the city.
M. Boiteux requested them to show him the highest point of the city,
and there he selected a large house. One of the guns was hoisted on
to the terrace, and the surrounding walls were temporarily put into a
state of defence. This improvised fortlet was at the north of the town,
where a real fort, occupied by a squadron of Spahis, now stands. At the
south of the town another house was transformed in the same manner, and
the second gun was placed there, while the handful of Europeans and
Laptots were stationed in between, and some fifty men, armed with guns
furnished by the town, were posted as sentinels.
In the meantime the Touaregs had plotted with, and been joined by, some
Kountas. On December 21st they attacked the flotilla reserve station
at Kabara. It was on this occasion the sad episode occurred which cost
Midshipman Aube his life. At the moment he was dying at Our’ Oumaira,
the sentinels at Timbuctoo, having heard rifle-shots, had given the
alarm. The only two horses in the town were brought out, Commandant
Boiteux mounted one, another European the other, and, accompanied by
the little garrison and the fifty natives, they set off in all haste to
Kabara. They routed the Touaregs, who fled, leaving fifteen of their
number dead.
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO FORT BONNIER]
The enemy mustered again in the night, and were seen in the day-time
passing the town. Being greeted with shot, they dispersed, some
to block the road to Kabara on the south, while others installed
themselves to the north of the city. The next night they sent a letter
to the kadi couched in the following terms: ‘People of Timbuctoo, are
you for us, or for the white men?’ The messenger was sent back with no
other answer than having seen the letter torn in pieces and spat upon.
At the same time, an inhabitant of the city arrived who had been made
prisoner by the Touaregs, and had escaped under cover of the darkness.
He told the Timbuctooans that at a council of the Touaregs, N’-Gouna,
chief of the Tenguaragifs, had proposed marching on Timbuctoo, but had
been opposed by the chiefs of the Kalintassars.
The commandant was immediately warned, and the alarm given to the
inhabitants, who feared an attack in the dark, according to the usual
custom of the veiled men. Every one was armed; even the strangers of
Mossi, who had been recently exploited by the Touaregs, seized their
bows and arrows. They were posted east and west, while the two fortlets
guarded north and south.
As day broke they could see bands passing from east to west, but not
daring to approach when they saw the muster. The divisions among the
Touaregs increased; the Kalintassars, who had not wished to attack
Timbuctoo, returned to their homes, and only the Tenguaragifs remained,
and they seized the road to Kabara with the intention of starving the
town.
They calculated well. About January 6th the garrison found the
provisions were running short. Whatever happened, they must revictual
from Kabara. The commandant resolved to use the path by which he
had come; so, in the night, the two lighters, armed afresh with the
revolving guns and a few men, glided out unperceived. However, they
could not get back before daylight, and the Touaregs, having discovered
them, assembled in a mass on the shores where the banks of the pool
narrowed. As they were preparing to fling their javelins, the guns were
unmasked, and a charge of grape-shot saluted them. The Touaregs had not
noticed the departure of the lighters, and thinking that reinforcements
had arrived, they fled to the interior westward of the town, and the
road to Timbuctoo was free.
Four days later, January 10th, the first column, under command of
Colonel Bonnier, entered the town, and thus ended the extraordinary
adventure of the marines in Timbuctoo.
I have transcribed, word for word, the naïve account given me by
those ebony and bronze men who were either the chief actors or chief
spectators in this action. My one care has been to simplify their
narrative and avoid any embellishments, yet I doubt if, in modern
times, there has been any event as improbable. The gravity of heroic
drama is mingled with the fun of an operetta, buffoonery wrestles with
the sublime. Not even the unhealthy imagination of Edgar Poe ever
conceived anything more fantastic.
[Illustration: FORT PHILIPPE]
It is so preposterous on the face of it. Nineteen men, seven of whom
are Europeans and the remainder Senegalese negroes, set out to bring to
terms a town of 8000 inhabitants, and are asked to take possession of
it. And this town is no African Lauderneau: it is Timbuctoo the Great,
known as a mysterious, fanatical, inaccessible city. Events follow _in
crescendo_. The population sides with its masters of to-day against
those of yesterday. One day they are ‘women,’ the next they are heroes
ready to die in defence of their conquerors, and, what is more, they
prove it! These Touaregs, whom formerly they had not dared to look in
the face, they now fight in the open country. And, more astonishing
still, they beat them! This dishevelled epopee, this mingling of
cavalry and artillery with naval combats and pictures of siege, does
not last for one or several days, it is prolonged for a month. In
fact, one is surprised not to see the green-eyed Pallas Athene, or the
white-armed Venus, appearing in the plain of Timbuctoo to protect the
combatants and inflame them with warlike ardour, while Apollo of the
silver bow brings the others to confusion with his arrows. But no,
this is no fable; it has all been lived in our notoriously prosaic
nineteenth century. Why should such a glorious and amusing quip be
followed by so sinister an epilogue?
The actors are the first column and those same Touaregs whom just now
we left to the west of Timbuctoo. The story has been written by M.
Raille, one of the garrison officers in Timbuctoo, who collected the
facts from the survivors.
* * * * *
The morning after their entry into Timbuctoo, Colonel Bonnier, without
further delay, ordered the fifth company and a platoon of the eleventh
to set out and reconnoitre, that they might rid the neighbourhood of
the nomads infesting it, and avenge, if possible, the massacre of
Midshipman Aube.
At five o’clock in the morning, leaving the rest of the troops under
the command of Captain Philippe, the colonel started with the little
column. He was accompanied by Commander Hugueny, Captains Regad,
Livrelli, Tassard, Sensaric, and Nigote, Lieutenants Garnier and
Bouverst, Sub-lieutenant Sarda, Doctor Colonel Gallas, the veterinary
Lenoir, and interpreter Acklouck.
It was the 14th of January 1894. At two o’clock in the afternoon
Colonel Bonnier learnt that the Touaregs were distant only a mile
or two in front of the column. They continued marching until eight
in the evening, and then they saw some flocks and a few armed men.
After giving chase to the stragglers, they encamped at a place called
Taconbao, which had just been evacuated by the Touaregs. Every one was
satisfied and cheerful.
They encamped, as nearly as possible, in the form of a square, the men
of the fifth company occupying the north, and those of the eleventh
company the south side. Every one slept rolled up in his blanket with
his arms piled near. On the other two sides the captured flocks were
picketed. The prisoners were installed in the middle of the camp, while
the staff formed a group in the middle of the square towards the east
side, where the colonel’s quarters were.
Until midnight the officers of the staff were awake, and laughing and
joking, having spent the evening gaily. At last every one slept. It was
a magnificent night, and the brilliant light of the moon illuminated
everything, until she set towards four o’clock in the morning. At
half-past four only the sentinels, of whom there were six, were awake.
The colonel himself gave the orders to have them placed at a short
distance from the camp. Suddenly, in the midst of the silence and
darkness, two reports of firearms resounded through the camp, and the
cry ‘To arms!’ was repeated everywhere. Immediately every one was up,
hurriedly seeking his arms. Alas! it was too late!
The Touaregs, some of whom had been seen straggling round the camp
the evening before, had assembled during the night. Their cavalry,
accompanied by running footmen and favoured by the darkness, flung
themselves on to the French camp in a furious and irresistible charge.
In the twinkling of an eye they had capsized the piled weapons and
swarmed into the camp before any one had had time to defend himself.
It was night indeed, and the frightful scene which ensued cannot be
depicted. It was a furious onslaught, an indescribable tumult. Above
everything sounded the warcries of the enemy, who were striking
and killing on all sides with lances, assegais, sabres, poignards,
tomahawks, etc. A few rifle-shots mingled with the clamour of distress,
and that was all.
Our tirailleurs succumbed to this human avalanche. In a few minutes it
was all over.
Three Europeans, an officer and two non-commissioned officers (Captain
Nigote, Sergeant-Major Baretti,and Sergeant Lalire) and a handful of
men succeeded in forcing a passage and reaching some bushes near the
encampment. Captain Nigote collected the fugitives in the midst of
these unprecedented perils and difficulties, and conducted them to the
convoy which had been left behind. There they were able to reform.
Eighty-two of our men and two guides were missing. Nine officers,
including the colonel, three non-commissioned officers (of whom two
were Europeans), eight corporals, and sixty native tirailleurs, had
fallen before the enemy.
As far as the survivors could judge in the darkness and tumult, they
had been attacked by about two hundred horsemen and between two and
three hundred foot-soldiers.
* * * * *
Twenty-five days afterwards, the second column, commanded by Colonel
Jouffre, arrived at Taconbao and collected the skeletons of the
thirteen Europeans, bringing them back to Timbuctoo. They were buried
behind an enclosure of dead thorns at the foot of the fort which was
being built to the south of the town. The last solemn honours were
rendered them before the whole garrison and the assembled population,
and modest mounds of sun-dried bricks and simple black crosses were
placed over the graves of these unfortunate heroes. Then Colonel
Jouffre turned his thoughts to vengeance. He soon ascertained that the
Tenguaragifs had settled between the Lakes Faguibine and Fati, not far
from Gundam. They were surprised by night in their encampments, and
our tirailleurs and Spahis slew a great number of them. According to a
saying of their own country, they paid the ransom of blood.
[Illustration: COLONEL BONNIER’S TOMB AT TIMBUCTOO]
Since we have avenged our dead, as the customs of the desert require,
and since we possess the country and the markets from which the
Touaregs draw their supplies, their different tribes have offered their
submission. I will not affirm that this submission is complete and
definite. It will still be necessary from time to time to show them
that their nefarious dominion is at an end, and that they have found
their master.
Timbuctoo remained unwaveringly faithful through all these
vicissitudes, true to the word given on the first day, ‘We are for you
henceforth,’ and it is easy to see that this allegiance will never be
withdrawn.
After waiting for it a year, the town received the sultan’s reply. The
sovereign of Fez wrote as follows:--
‘Praise be unto the one God.
‘May blessings and salutations be upon our Lord Mahomet, upon
his family, and upon his companions.
‘Greeting to the chief of the town and the notables. May God
accord you His favours, accompanied by His blessings and His
mercy.
‘I have paid great attention to the help and protection you
ask of me. I am greatly distressed. I should have responded to
your appeal and given you good support, but the great distance
between us compels me to be cautious. Your neighbours must come
to your assistance.
‘I will march upon the French and drive them away from you, but
you must first send me proofs of your dependency on my high
government and my kingdom. If you possess writings emanating
from your ancestors (those generous ones who are already in
the Land of the Blessed), manifest and serious documents, send
them to me. With their help I will deliver you from everything
by the power and grace of the Most High God, who suffices unto
the afflicted and who comforts those who suffer, for He is
All-powerful.
‘Salutation.
‘MOULAY EL HASSAN.’
And so faded their last and fondest illusions. As soon as received, his
majesty’s letter was put into the hands of the commandant of Timbuctoo,
who delicately placed it in the archives.
Two large forts have replaced the improvised fortifications, and
their guns command every side of the town. Under their protection
the inhabitants are reviving. The long nightmare of the Touaregs
is being slowly dispelled, they are beginning to repair and rebuild
their houses, to leave the doors ajar, and to resume their beautifully
embroidered robes.
[Illustration: A HOUSE: TYPICAL OF TIMBUCTOO RESTORED]
The town begins to show signs of European occupation. A great,
herculean negro plays the part of policeman, and promenades the streets
with a sabre at his side. An enterprising merchant, Gaston Mery, has
recently established a counting-house, and he carries on an excellent
business in the large and comfortable house he has built there.
Cardinal Lavigerie’s White Fathers have arrived, led by Father Hacquard
(a man well known in Algeria), and, thanks to them, the town is already
endowed with a church (Our Lady of Timbuctoo) and a school.
Such are the first days of the new era upon which Timbuctoo has
entered, and from which she will emerge more famous than ever; for she
possesses one thing which can never be destroyed, and which ensures her
perpetual greatness--her unique geographical position on the threshold
of the Sudan between the eastern and western Niger, two arms which
embrace the whole of western Africa.
[Illustration: THE POLICEMAN AT TIMBUCTOO]
I see Timbuctoo throwing aside her rags in the distant future, and
raising the form bent by misfortunes. The sandy pool of Kabara will
have been cleared and deepened, and the Niger will have brought its
abundant waters to the gates of the town. It will be an easy task then
to carry an arm to north and east, and the town will be embraced by
a girdle of cultivation. Her gardens, her wealth of verdure, and her
palm-trees will be restored to her, and, threaded by shady walks, she
will become a pleasant and active cosmopolitan city, a point of union
between the black and white worlds.
The Sahara will be conquered; an iron chain will be put about its
sands, the links of which will be railways; freights will circulate
between Algiers and Timbuctoo with the speed of lightning; and the
fleets of the Mediterranean will unite with those of the Niger.
Touaregs, Kountas, and all unproductive nomads will be thrown back upon
the desert, their first home, where they will form an efficient police
force, which will protect the routes of the Sahara.
I picture the city become a centre of European civilisation and
science, as it was formerly of Mussulman culture. The reputation of
her scholars will again spread from Lake Chad to the mountains of Kong
and the shores of the Atlantic, and Timbuctoo will once more be the
wealthy and cultured Queen of the Sudan which her distant view now so
deceitfully promises her to be.
FOOTNOTES
[1] This is how our conquest has been organised:--The Sudan is divided
into regions, the regions into circles, and these again into posts. The
first are five in number. The government resides provisionally in the
first region, that of Kayes (though logically the centre of the colony
should be at Bammaku). Its circles are those of Nioro, Kita, Bafoulaba,
and its posts, Selibaba and Gumbu. Other European centres are: Medina,
Dinguirai, Dioubaba, and Badoumba. Second, the southern region. Centre:
Bissandugu (ancient capital of Samory). Circles: Siguiri, Farannah,
Erimakono, Kissidugu. Posts: Kankan, Beyla, Kerwana, Kuroussa. Third,
the eastern region on the left bank of the river and to the right
across the valley of the Niger. Centre: Bammaku. Circle: Bougouni.
Posts: Koulikoro and Toulimandio. Fourth, the north-east region on both
sides of the river. Centre: Segu. Circles: Jenne, Sokolo, Bandiagara.
Posts: Mopti and Gourao on Lake Debo, headquarters of the flotilla.
Fifth, the northern region comprising the lakes of the north valley.
Centre: Timbuctoo. Circles: Gundam and Sarafara. Post: El Oual Hadj. A
superior officer is at the head of each region; captains administer the
circles; and officers of different grades command the posts.
[2] It would probably be necessary, in order to identify Kokia with a
town of the Nile valley, to find one built upon an island like the two
principal Songhois towns, Jenne and Gao. The _Tarik_ mentions a town of
the same name existing in the sixteenth century south of Gao, but it
can have no connection with the Kokia at present under discussion. The
name was probably given to it by the Songhois in memory of their first
home; if indeed the town really had this name, and it is not an error
of the copyists.
[3] Gao is also called Kou-Kou, Gogo, Garo, and Gago.
[4] A record of their names is immaterial, but I append it, thinking to
please the orientalists, who will thus be enabled to read them for the
first time as they are pronounced by the Songhois.
Dialliaman’s successors were: Dia Arkaï, Dia Atkaï, Dia Akkaï, Dia
Akkou, Dia Alfaï, Dia Biagoumaï, Dia Bi, Dia Kira, Dia Aum Karawaï, Dia
Aum Sumaïam, Dia Aum Danka, Dia Kiobogo, Dia Koukouraï, Dia Kenken;
these were idolaters. The sixteenth king, reigning towards the year
1000 of our era, was converted to Islamism in 1010, and since then all
the Songhoi princes have been Mussulmans. The list of names continues
without incident up to Dia Soboï: Dia Koussaï Daria, Dia Hin Koronou
Goudam, Dia Bia Koni Kimi, Dia Binta Say, Dia Bia Kaïna Kamba, Dia
Kaïna Siniobo, Dia Tip, Dialliaman Diago, Dia Ali Korr, Dia Berr
Faloco, _Dia Siboi_, Dia Dourou, Dia Kabaro, Dia Bissi Baro, Dia Bada.
[5] Sunni Alikolon, Sunni Suliman Naré, Sunni Ibrahim Kobia, Sunni
Osman Kanava, Sunni Barkaïna Ankabi, Sunni Moussa, Sunni Boukari
Dianka, Sunni Boukar Dalla Bougoumba, Sunni Marikin, Sunni Mohammed
Daon, Sunni Mohammed Kokia, Sunni Mohammed Barro, Sunni Maré
Kollighimon, Sunni Maré Arcouna, Sunni Maré Ardhan, Sunni Suliman Dami,
_Sunni Ali_, and Sunni Barro (or Boukari Dao).
[6] The windows form squares of nineteen inches at a three-foot
interval. The first row is sixteen feet from the ground, and the second
twenty-four feet or thereabouts.
[7] Each triforium formed a gallery of little less than six feet six
inches wide by thirty-two feet high. The walls of this part were rather
more than two feet thick, while the walls of the gallery were about
four feet thick.
[8] The native pronunciation is more nearly represented by the
orthography Tomboutou.
[9] The Markassighi of to-day, settled to the east of Timbuctoo, and
forming part of the Tenguaragif family.
[10] The Hamtagal of to-day, to the south-west of Timbuctoo.
[11] Called Ganata and Gana by the Arabs in the ancient texts, and
Birou by the Songhois.
[12] The hire of a camel plying between Morocco and Timbuctoo costs
from forty to fifty francs, and merchants usually employ from thirty to
forty of these animals.
[13] The King of Mali erected a palace at Timbuctoo in the fourteenth
century. But palaces have a precarious existence in the Sudan, and by
the sixteenth century it had disappeared. Its ruins, forming a compact
hillock in the west of the town, are now used as a slaughter-house.
[14] This tribe of Senhadja spread very freely over the south-west of
Africa, and it is from them that Senegal takes its name.
[15] He was buried beside his father, Sidi Ahmed, whose tomb is still
to be seen to the north of Timbuctoo.
[16] A copy of this book is to be found among the manuscripts of the
Bibliothèque Nationale, Fonds Orscela, No. 4628. It was found in
Algeria by M. Cherbonneau, who has published some very interesting
extracts.
[17] M. Houdas, the eminent Professor of the Oriental School of
Languages, is preparing a complete translation.
[18] The following encounter took place between the chief of chiefs
Omar and a Jew who brought him a document in which the Prophet
commanded the exemption from taxation of the people of Khaibar (a
Jewish town in Arabia). This document was accompanied by the testimony
of the companions of the Prophet, Ali Ibn Abm Thaleb among others.
These documents were brought to the chief of chiefs, and caused great
astonishment to all people. They were shown to Aben Bekr, a prudent man
and endowed with a wonderful memory. He reflected a moment, then said,
‘All this is a lie.’ ‘How so?’ they asked him. ‘I find the evidence of
Mo’awai in this document,’ he replied, ‘and Mo’awai did not embrace
Islamism until the year of the capture of Khaibar. I also see the
testimony of Sá’ad ben Mo’adh, and he died on the day of Bani-Karaide
before the capture of Khaibar.’ This incident greatly amused the people.
The above anecdote is related by Ahmed Baba in the beginning of his
_Ibtihadj_.
[19] I procured from its destroyers a little wooden Moorish window
belonging to the upper story, in which the traveller lived during his
stay. I brought away the poor relic, which is in every way worthy of
a place in the Greenwich Hospital by the side of the mementoes of the
Franklin Polar expedition.
[20] _Barth_, vol. iv. p. 38, French edition.
[21] _Ibid._, p. 442, German edition.
INDEX
Abderrahman Sadi el Timbucti, author of _Tarik é Sudan_, life of,
312-313;
the plan of his work, 313-315, 316.
Abou Abdallah, 280-281.
Abu Abdallah ben Abderrahim, 287.
Ahmadou Abdoulay, 139.
---- Ahmadou, last King of the Foulbes, 138, 139, 140, 340.
---- Baba Boubakar, 310.
Ahmed Baba, life of, 306-310;
his books, 309, 312, 318.
Akil, takes refuge in Oualata, 236.
Alpha Moussa, 148.
Amru, the Arabian conqueror, on Egypt, 41-42.
Arabian language, spread of, in the Sudan, 276-277.
---- traders of Timbuctoo, 264-266.
Archinard, Colonel, 71, 72, 140, 148, 172, 321, 352;
his march on Timbuctoo, 353.
Askia Bankouri, 118-119.
---- Daoud, 120.
---- El Hadj II., 120, 124.
---- Ishak I., 120, 123, 124.
---- Ishak II., 120, 124, 126, 127;
death of, 128.
---- Ismael, 119-120.
---- Kaghou, 128.
---- Mohammed, 109-117;
his devotion to Islamism, 109;
pilgrimage to Mecca and Cairo, 110;
conquests of, 111-113;
extent of his empire, 113;
wise administration of, 114-116;
deposed by his son, 117;
death of, 120, 121.
---- Mohamman Ban, 120.
---- Moussa, 117-118, 304.
Aube Expedition, graves of the, 199.
Badoumba, 14.
Bafing river, 2.
Bafoulaba, 2, 4.
_Baga_, or _bamanbi_, or cheese-tree, 60-61.
Bakoy, 2, 9.
Bambaras, 129.
Bammaku, Fort, 2, 9, 50, 56, _et seq._;
its principal articles of commerce, 61, 68, 322.
Bani river, 33, 50, 51, 143-145.
Bankouri, 289.
Barth, 36, 89, 95, 98, 139, 143, 215, 312, 324, 329, 337-344;
as English Ambassador, 344-349, 350, 351.
Berbers, the, 113;
origin and history, 223-227.
Birds of the Niger, the, 28-29.
Boiteux, Lieutenant, 321.
Bonci-Ba (‘the great beard’), name given to Mungo Park, 36, 322.
Bonnier disaster, the, 199.
Borgnis-Desbordes, Colonel, 57, 72, 140, 321.
Bosos or Somnos, the sailors of the Niger, 18;
their origin, 19;
their physical qualities, 22-23, 38, 39, 80, 81, 82.
Bourgoo, Pool of, 51.
Bossissa, on the results of the French conquest, 76-78.
Brick-making in the Sudan, 148-150.
Bruc, André, 321.
Caillié, René, 8, 36, 329;
his career, 330-334;
his host and his house at Timbuctoo, 334-337, 342.
Camel, cost of hire of, from Morocco to Timbuctoo, 251 _n._ 12.
‘Captain Nigote’s servant,’ 5.
Chad, Lake, 195.
Cheikou Ahmadou, 37, 68, 134-137, 138, 139, 156;
his reasons for destroying the great mosque at Jenne, 158-160, 240;
trickery of, 304.
Clarendon, Lord, letter from, to the Sheik el Backay, 345-346.
Colbert, 321, 352.
Commissariat in the French Nigerian possessions, 12-14.
Convoy from Kabara to Timbuctoo, 203-207.
Cotton district of the Niger, 65.
Crocodile worship at Jenne, 181-182.
Dai, 201.
---- Pool of, 195, 196.
Dakar, the port of Senegal, 1, 70.
Debo, Lake, 27, 30, 33, 51, 145.
Deltas of the Niger, 51-53.
Diafaraba, 50, 51.
Dialliaman, 90 _et seq._;
his successors, 99.
Dia Soboï, 100.
_Diatigui_, or landlord, his duties, 260.
Difficulty of procuring books in Timbuctoo, my, 289.
Dioubaba, 2, 5;
journey from, to Bammaku, 9-16.
_Dioulas_, 10-11.
_Dissas_, 246.
Djonder, Pasha, 126, 127, 128.
Doves, respect paid to, at Jenne, 182.
Egypt, the ‘present of the Nile,’ 41.
---- influence of Ancient, on the Sudan, 87-88, 95-97, 111, 188.
Egyptian art, characteristics of, in the houses at Jenne, 150-153.
---- Customs, disappearance of, among the Songhois, 180.
El Backay, 139;
his house, 215, 343; 337, 340, 341;
letters from Lord Clarendon and English Consul to, 345-348, 349,
350.
---- Bekri, quoted, on funeral customs, 194.
---- Djouf, 252.
---- Hadj, 281.
---- ---- Omar, 59, 67, 68, 76, 138, 140, 141, 172, 240, 349, 350.
---- _Ibtihadj_, 309.
---- Mansour, Sultan, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 130, 307.
---- Moucheïli, on Sunni Ali, 104-107, 295;
his persecution of the Jews, 298-299;
influence with the King, 299, 301.
---- Oual Hadj, 31, 51, 191, 193;
mounds at, 193-195.
---- Zidan Sultan, 310.
England, efforts of, to gain a footing in Western Africa, 325, 331,
352.
English methods in the Sudan, 345.
Essoyouti, 110, 136.
Faidherbe, Captain, his attempts to reach the Niger, 15, 71.
---- General, Governor of the Niger, 350.
Farannah, 14.
_Fatassi_, the, 137, 302, 304;
anecdote of, 303-304.
Fires the black man’s method of manuring, 39.
Flatters Mission, the, 15.
Foota Jallon range, 9, 29, 42, 50.
Fording the stream to Timbuctoo, 205.
Foulbe dynasty, their detestation of Europeans, 139.
Foulbes, the, 129, 133-134, 135, 137, 140, 141, 147.
French arms, disaster to, near Timbuctoo, 365-366.
---- influence in Jenne, beneficial results of, an old chief on,
172-173.
Gao, capital of the Songhoi Empire, 94, 95, 98, 99, 108, 113, 124,
126, 127, 133, 143, 147.
Ghingaraber, cathedral mosque of, 234, 325, 326.
Grey, Major, his expedition, 331.
Guinea, the coin, named from ‘Jenne,’ 172.
Habais, the, 98.
Hacquard, Father, 369.
Hamdallai (El-Lamdou-Lillahi), 159.
Houdas, M., 315 _n._ 17.
Ibn Batouta, 96;
quoted, 268-270.
---- Chaldoun, quoted, 223.
---- Ferhoun, 309.
Imbert, Paul, sold as a slave, 321-322.
Inundations of the Niger and Bani rivers, 143-145.
Islamism, appearance of, in the Sudan, 96.
Irregenaten, 241.
Jenne, 39, 67, 80 _et seq._, 100, 102, 113, 140, 146;
its situation, 146-147;
description of the houses at, 150-153;
the grand mosque at, 154-156;
commerce at, 165-167;
boat-building at, 167-168;
cost of travel at, 168;
influence of, on the Western Sudan, 169-170;
the founder of Timbuctoo, 170;
contrasted with Timbuctoo, 170-172;
under the Toucouleurs, 172;
results of French occupation, 172-173;
the market at, 178-180;
crocodile worship at, 181-182;
my last day at, 185-188;
the mother of Timbuctoo, 234.
Jenneri, 51.
Josse, M., 329.
Jouffre, Colonel, 353, 366.
Kabara, Port of Timbuctoo, 197;
population of, 200, 239, 242, 328.
---- Pool of, 200, 205.
Kadi el Akib, 297.
Kaid-Ali, 38.
_Karita_, or butter-tree, 59-60.
Kati Mountains, 14.
Kissi country, 44, 48.
Khalif Abassid, 110, 116.
Kayes, the port of the Sudan, 2, 4, 70, 203.
Kingdom of the Sands, the, 196.
Koli-Koli river, 33, 34.
Kong chain, 48.
Koran, the, 276-277.
Korienza, port of, 191.
Koriouma-Djitafa, 201.
Kouakoru, village of, 80.
Kouakouru, 143, 144, 145.
Kounkour-Moussa, 235.
Koulikoro, 18, 50, 65.
Koumbourou, 153, 154.
Kounta-Mamadi, 323.
Kountas, Berber tribe, 137, 140, 141.
Kouroussa, 48.
Kunari, 51.
Laing, Major, 139, 325;
his house at Timbuctoo, 326-327;
his mission, 327;
his death, 328-329;
his papers, 329-330, 333.
Lakes of the Niger, 53, 54.
Lavigerie, Cardinal, 369.
Léon the African, 89, 268, 288.
Life in the bush, its charms, 7-9.
_Litham_, 228.
Louis XVI., 321.
Mademba, Fama, 72, 75-76.
Mahmoud, Pasha, 128;
conquest of Sudan by, 129, 305.
Mahommed Neddo, 282-283.
Moorish conquest of the Sudan, 122-130;
disintegration sets in, 130;
Songhois revolt, 131, 133.
Maksara, Touareg tribe, 231.
Marabuts, the, 278-280;
lives of, 280-283;
graves of, 283-284;
their erudition, 285;
their libraries, 287-288;
their students, 289-295;
in politics and literature, 282-320;
exile of, 305-306.
Markets opened since French occupation at Timbuctoo, 267.
Mali, the, 100, 101;
conquest of, by Askia, 112-113, 147.
Malinkas, 147, 235, 236.
Marie, Adrien, 15.
Marrakesh, 124, 127, 306.
Massina, 51.
Mopti, 33, 50.
Morocco the principal client of Timbuctoo, 252.
Mohammed ben Abou Bakr, 107;
quoted, 285, 286.
Mosque at Jenne, the grand, 154-156;
the story of its destruction, 158-160;
its ruins, 160;
its tombs, 160-163.
Mossi, the, pillage Timbuctoo, 100;
conquered by Askia, 111-112.
Mouley Abdallah, 123.
---- Mahommed el Kebir, 123.
---- Rhassoun, 317, 318.
_Nata_, or flour-tree, 60.
Negraic Africa, first railroad in, 1.
_Nicab_, 228.
Niger, the, 1, 2, 9, 14;
my first view of, 15-16, 18 _et seq._;
rise and fall of, 32-34;
nights upon, 35-36;
the ‘Nile of the Sudan’ 42;
its source, 42-44;
course of, 50-55, 115, 143-145 _et seq._
Nigerian countries, number of Europeans in, 58;
size and population of, 57.
Nyamina, 29, 50, 65.
Ospreys, white, on the Niger, 28.
Ouad Teli, wells of, 253.
Oualata, 96, 234, 235.
_Oualiou_, 283.
‘Our’ Oumaira,’ 206-207.
Our Lady of Timbuctoo, 369.
Paliko river, 44.
Park, Mungo, 8, 36, 322-325;
death of, 324.
Pasture on the Niger, 27.
Peddie and Campbell, Majors, their Expedition, 331.
Philippe, Captain, 193, 364.
Pirates of the Niger, 38.
Post-offices of the Sudan, 70.
Queen of the Sudan, the, 208, 241, 275, 371.
Raille, M., his narrative of events in Timbuctoo, 364-366.
Region of the three deltas of the Niger, 53.
Rice the staple food of the Songhois, 184.
Richardson’s Expedition to the Sudan, 337.
Roger, Baron, 332.
Roumas, the, 133, 238, 239, 240, 338.
Rufisk, town of, 1.
Sahara, the, and Niger, struggle between, 195.
St. Louis, 1;
School of Hostages at, 71.
Salt, the true gold of the Sudan, 123, 170.
Samba-Marcalla, 322, 323.
Samory, 57, 59, 140.
Sana, 51.
Sankoré, University of, 237-238, 275 _et seq._
Sansanding, 29, 50, 65, 67, 71, 72, 165.
Sarafara, 27, 31, 165, 191, 195.
Segu, 14, 26, 29, 33, 50, 65, 67-70, 165, 322.
Senegal, the temperature of, 1.
---- river, 2, 9, 14.
Sidi Abdallah Chabir, 334.
---- Moktar el Kabir, 338, 339;
his successors, 339-340.
---- Yaia, life of, 281-282;
described, 286-287.
Siguiri, 14.
Sofara, battle at, between the forces of El Hadj Omar and Ahmadou
Ahmadou, 138.
Songhois, the, their origin, 89-90;
first king of, 90;
their exodus, 93-95;
their language, 97;
their physical type, 97;
capital of, 98;
their race of kings, 99, 121;
their empire invaded by Moors, 121, 148, 150;
writings of, 181;
sweetness of disposition of, 183;
customs and habits of, 184-185;
kingdom, extent of, in 1496, 237;
character of, 300.
Sotouba, barrier of, 50, 61, 63.
Spitzer, M., 139.
Sudan, the, 5, 6, 41;
French conquest of, how organised, 58 _n._ 1;
story of French conquest, 140, 141, 352-371.
Sudanese, the, character of, 300;
Mohammedans and fetichists, 300;
outbursts of fanaticism among, 301.
Sunni Ali, 100, 101;
his conquests, 102;
his oppressions, 103-104;
‘liberties with the Faith,’ 104;
traits in his character, 107, 109, 147, 180, 236, 237, 304, 306,
316.
Sunni Barro, 108.
_Taifa_, the official brokers, 262-263.
_Taliba_, or student, 289-290;
his school routine, 290-294;
openings for the, 294-295.
Taoudenni, salt-blocks of, 253-255;
their value, 255;
salt caravans of, 256.
_Taraïfa Koubra_, 338.
_Tarik é Sudan_, quoted or referred to, 87, 90, 91, 93, 100, 120,
128, 134, 147, 153, 160, 185, 232, 280, 304, 310-315;
its style, 315;
the Hozier of the Sudan, 316, 320, 343.
Telegraph, the, in the Sudan, 70-71.
Tembi-Kuntu, 50.
Tembi river, 44, 45;
superstitions associated with, 45-47.
Tenguaragifs, 241, 357, 366.
Thegazza, salt-mines of, 123, 124, 252.
Tidiana, 140.
Timbuctoo, 14, 26, 32, 37, 39, 40 _et seq._, 100, 113, 124, 133, 140;
contrasted with Jenne, 170-172, 195, 200-211;
market of, 211-212;
buildings in, 213-216;
life among the ruins of, 216;
impressions of, 216-218;
my life in, 218-222;
decadence of, 240;
in possession of tyrants, 241-245;
disastrous results, 245-249;
commerce and life of, 250-274;
articles of commerce, 252;
the caravans and fleets of, 257;
hospitality of inhabitants to strangers, 259-260;
the shops and shopkeepers, 261-262;
the traders, 262-266;
statistics, 266-267;
the city of pleasure for Western Africa, 269;
manners and customs of the people, 270-274;
fashionable life in, 272-274;
a religious, scientific, and literary centre, 273-276;
in its days of greatness, 319-320;
the necessity for French occupation, 352-353;
the capture of, 353-355;
attitude of the population, 355-360;
the future of, 369-371.
Tomboutou (‘The mother with the large navel’), 232.
Touaregs, the, 5, 31, 115, 123, 129, 133, 134, 141, 143, 198, 199,
203, 206;
their industries, 227-228;
head-dress of, 228;
their nomadic habits, 229;
theft their natural industry, 229;
religious beliefs of, 231;
proverb concerning, 231, 231 _et seq._, 256, 284, 338, 341, 350,
351, 360, 362, 364, 365, 367.
Toucouleurs, the, 77, 78, 138, 140, 172, 173;
invasion by, 349.
Toulimandio, 29, 63.
Toundibi, battle between Moors and Songhois at, 126, 128.
Tribes of Western Africa, 89.
Turner, General Charles, 333.
‘Unique Pearl of his Time,’ the, 306.
Venus Anadiomenes, the, of the Niger, 25, 26.
Voyage from Jenne to Timbuctoo, my, 189-207.
White Fathers at Timbuctoo, the, 369.
Printed by T. and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to Her Majesty
at the Edinburgh University Press
Transcriber’s Notes.
Italic text is indicated with _underscores_, bold text with =equals=.
Small/mixed capitals have been replaced with ALL CAPITALS.
Evident typographical and punctuation errors have been corrected
silently. Inconsistent spelling/hyphenation has been normalised.
The usage of "iman" (imam) is the author’s.
An unresolved anomaly in the index (punctuation and page number
sequence) has been left as printed. See El Backay, his house.
A Half-title page has been discarded.
End of page footnotes have been sequentially numbered and relocated to
the end of the text.
To improve text flow, illustrations have been relocated between
paragraphs.
Cover art created for this eBook is granted to the
public domain.