The herald., 1895-08-28

in feeding itself from the territory Of
which the city had been the chief mart.
Never was the city more severely pressed
or more subject to exactions. The Toursgs
thr rtshei the city as with a fail. For
the last twenty-five years they have treat
ed it as conquered city. The popula-
tion had nothing to do but to fly befor e
the army of pillagers whom the industry
of Timonctoo supported. The citizens
are far from warlike. I'VE are women"
! they a:e not ashamed to say.
The emigration from the citv has been
large. There are left only from 1000 to
10.0O) inhabitants now that the French
flag floats over the city. All those lett
are merchants-men. women ana child
en-. The men give themselves up to the
wholesale trade, the women and cnildr en-
to the retail.
The exterior commerce o! Timbuctoo 10
divided into two distinct parts, that of
the north and that of the south. The car
avans of the north laden with rock sait
and European goods. come mostly from
Morocco, though few come from Touat
| ana Ghadames. European merchandise.
except the sugar OF Marseilles, is of Eng
lish or German origin. White cottonades,
OF which there is an immense sale. bear
the label of Hamburg, Guinea blue con-
stitutes the basis of the i'm portations of
such stuffs. Clothes tinted in red are
much sought after in the market of Tim
buctoo. The decoration must be in lines,
straight or broken, according to the Arab
taste. After stuffs come next IN import
ance paper in reams, tobacco boxes. gro
ceres. pepper, cloves, silk, small pearls
for embroidery and larger ones for neck
laces. perfumes, knives, needles, scissors,
mirrors. girdles, teacups and teapots. tea
and sugar. From Morocco come various
African products and n few Oriental fab.
RIGS. Amber, coral and carnelian al so ap-
pear in the market of Timbuctoo. But
rock salt is the cargo OF more camels
than any other article. 1t comes from
mines in the dese,t on the route to Moroc-
co. 1t is in mathematical forms weigh
ing from thirty TO thirty-five kilometers
each, and the price of block at Timbuc
too is from So to 50.
In December last there arrived at Tim
buctoo 200o camels, carving each about
$50 Kilograms of merchandise, or IN the
aggregate aoout 335 tons. December. jan
uary and July are the months in which
more caravans arrive than at any
other time. but they come and
so the year round. The caravans
of the north never go south OF Timbuc-
too. while the traders from the south
never pass beyond the city. The latter
come by the Niger and i,s tributaries in
canoes or fatboats. The great canoes of
the Niger carry from twenty five to thirty
tons of merchandise. Water fails in the
southeast, and merchandise is carried by
oXen bv asses and upon the backs of
men. These take boats on reaching the
Niger. The city has three dependent
boats OIL the Niger. but last year so nigh
was the water that the great canoes went
up to Timbuctoo. Usually, when the
water is highest, merchandise is dis
charged at a port about nine miles balow
Tim buctoo and the ports of debarkation
vary with the condition of the river, the
most distant one being about sixteen
miles from Timbuctoo. The mercha ndise
when disembarked at any one of the de-
pendent ports is carried thence to Tim
buctoo on the backs of asses by camels
hired from the northern caravans. and.
though rarely, upon the backs of men.
The southern trade is directed by negro
merchants. These bring to Timbuctoo a
variety OF foods. but especially grains.
millet. rice and a little wheat. They
fetch as we'll vegetable butter. beans, kola
nuts. monkey bread. baobab -four. ma
nioca. tamarinds. native cotton fabrics.
much valued in the market: cotton bands
of fine weave saturated with indigo and
FURNISHED bv mechanical process TO an
incom parably brilliant metallic lustre,
and highly priced by the people of Tim
buctoo for tur bans pottery. breechclouts.
calabhshes. elephants tusks, gold and iron
in bars.
The commerce of mbuctoo suffered
greatly after the French occupation of
year and a half ago. hut is now reviving.
The importations from the south in Jam
uary. 1895, were valued at about S62. 500.
and the ex portations northward by cara.
vans amounted 10 about $50, 600. A rail-
way from the French possessions south
wa d across the desert to Tim IS
already prophesied. New York Sun.