The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1880-06-10
Timbuctoo.

the rhyme of "hymn-book-too"-i bet
ter known in America, if we except
Mesopotamia, which is supposed to be a
religious word, than Timbuctoo. And
yet a very few persons can tell exactly
what Mesopotamia is, so still fewer have
any definite notion of Timbuctoo, except
that it is a mysterious city somewhere
in Central Africa, which may be a rival
of Pekin, and may be of no more conse-
quence than Barkhamsted. And it is
only fair to say that the world at large,
even the geographers, have not much
more definite information about it.
But the geographical society at Oran
in Algeria has just been so fortunate
as to catch a Jewish rabbi, on his way
from Paris to Timbuctoo, who has twice
traversed Central Africa, and was able
to give come definite information about
this mysterious city. According to the
rabbi, Timbuctoo is an Arab city in
every respect, built like those in the in
terror. We know what this is; it is a
collection of mud houses, matched per-
haps with grass or straw, with narrow
alleys and dark, dirty bazaars. 1t has
no white inhabitants except transient
travellers; the residents are all Foulah
negroes. 1t contains about $4,000 PEG.
pie, being larger, he says, than Oran
(which is six miles around) and smaller
than Marrulles. 1t is in fact a collec.
ton of small villages, extending over a
considerable area.
1t is situated in the midst Of a very
rich country, and lies about a mile north
of the Niger, which there flows from the
west to the southeast and is very broad.
The natives call it the "Nile," or in Ar
able, the Ell Der (the sea-. 1t overfows
its banks periodically like the Nile, the
flood extending up to the walls of the
town, and fertilizes the land; and the
land which is not SO irrigated is not cul.
tivable. But with this inundation
the soil is very fertile, and pro-
duces crops of sorgho, millet, rice,
tomatoes, onions and turnips; indigo
grows wild. There are near by forests
of valuable timber, many cocoanut trees,
and a gum tree from which the natives
get oil for illumination. The river sup
plies fish in abundance, and the natives
navigate it by means of cared barges
anu rats constructed of pieces of wood
bound together with cords.
The present ruler Of the country is
Sultan Mohomet-el-Bekoe, who resides
at the capital. This is a large town, of
which we have not before heard, called
Abmet-Ellah, situated about twelve
miles north OF Timpuctoo, and contains
a population OF about 100000. The
highway connecting these two cities
must be very pleasing and picturesque,
as it is lined all the way with villages
and gardens. Timbuctoo is governed
by a kaid, who has full authority and
has under him Il rigorous taX-collector.
There seems to be no spot III the world
where a pilgrim could escape taxes.
The Sultan mas no regular army. but
everybody is a soldier in an emergency;
the lighting Is done with bows and ar
rows, only the chiefs carrying guns, pis-
tolls and sabres. The l~iveliest trade is
in slaves, which is conducted on a very
large scale. Salt is a valuable import, a
slave often being exchanged for IA killo
gramme or NO..
Trade is carried on by barter, or by
means Of strings of shells-the fiat
money of the country, and quite the
greenbackers ideal. The caravans, which
seems to be conducted largely by Jews
from North Africa, who cross the Sa.
hara, bring in cotton and linen goods,
glass trlnkets, arms (mostly of English
manufacturer, knives, needles, etc; and
carry out rice, sorgno, millet, ostrich
feathers, gold dust, gum, ivory, lead and
coffee. To the north Of Timbuctoo large
quantities of camels are reared, and on
the plains to the south the native tribes
wander about, after the fashion OF the
Bedouin Arabs, with herds of sheep and
cattle. 1t seems a pity that white civ
ilization should ever disturb this serene
and comfortable black civilization. If
they would only follow the example of
the United States and Of Spain, and
give up slavery, We would have no call
to interfere with this colored paradise
Hartford Courant.
Bottling Sunshine. =