Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1916-09-22
BUCCANEERS OF THE DESERT
Masked Tuaregs Acknowledge No Ale.
glance and Wage War With
All Civilization.

Back of the troubled areas of north.
ern Africa, there lies a truceless coun.
try, inhabited by people, the masked
Tuaregs, fascinating for the mystery
and exclusiveness with which they
have surrounded their life. These peo-
pie, natives and rulers of the Middle
Desert, are the allies of no one, but
wage a furtiye guerrilla warfare with
all who invade the inhospitable Sa-
hara sands of their domain They are
the buccaneers of the trackless sand
forever at war with all civilization and
its restraints, begins war geogra ply
primer issued by the National Geo.
graphic society at Washington
Masked Tuaregs are Berber no.
MAIDS, a white desert people, whose
country is probably the most inaeces-
sible on earth. Even before Egyptian
civilization began to leave coherent
records OF its history the Tuaregs, or
Berbers, were long established along
northern Africa. The great Arab in
vasian of the eleventh century dis.
placed them from their possessions
upon the seacoast and drove them into
the savage area of the interior desert,
where, with their hands raised against
all who come into their painless coun-
try, they have maintained themselves
through the intervening centuries, de-
spite lack of water, sandstorms and
Z Il - 81 Lands commissioning
by force of arms from the Arabs and
Egyptians, to the north and east, and
from the blacks of the Sudan, in the
south, such necessities and luXurleS
as their cherries portion of mother
earth cannot supply them.
There are five main tribes in the
Tuareg confederation and they inha0
it the desert from Tuat to Timbuktu'
and from Fezzan to Finder. TheF
homes are reared in the heart OF ara
wastes, where vast solitudes, unnat'
ural heats and unmarked distances
shroud everything in uncanny myS'
terry They are masters of an are"
half that of the United States in e&,
tent. OF this 10000 square miles OF
territory, scarcely 5000 acres, or less
than the area OF New York city ID
cultivated land. This scanty farm
land is only maintained by an or
during struggle with the drliIihe
sands. These fierce adventures WIZ
have forced the great desolatioh "
yield them support, number 5oV'VVg'
or more. according to estimate anu
they have made themselves feareu j!
the natives from the Mediterranean
to the jungles of Central Africa
The Tuaregs wear the end OF theN
turban cloth drawn around the az,
allowing nothing but the eyes u ~
seen. It is worn for the purpose u
protecting the throat and lungs ia
the cutting blasts of fine desert saHu'
and also probably as an element 90
HANGING the mystery of their NE, 20
they seldom or never remove 'no.
masks. whether rowing over the uV9e.
or visiting in the cities on the - IA
Due to these cloths, they are Us Us
Masked Tuaregs, while the A. ,sa
call them People of the Ven. ~
masks are dark blue and wnile' -, ,1
former being worn by Tuareg noo,a
and the latter by the serfs ana s'"'.,,
Some centers for trade, Taa 1,is
towns. are situated in the Mi1 t'.,
Desert. These are Wargla. Timouh ,aS
Chat. Ghadames, Murzuk ana mss -os
However, the Tuareg has little ca a..
for trade and industry He is a lsr,
less enduring, hard-fghting aus us
turer along the merchandise u@
that cross the desert. Two lmp nj
trails leave Tripoli, on the coass' var.
traverse 5000 miles of sand anu a J@
rem wastes to the Sudan, wheIe .!bsr
eargoes of skins, gold, ivory ana ,s oa
interior African products are .g-ord.
unon camels and brought nortn '.'sts
Sometimes a single caravan con nson.
of thousands of camels and mere. .sop.
disc to the value of hundreds .. .s sins
sands SAM of dollars. When pai 3sad,
through the Tuareg country u. nav
ers Of such caravans have haa .s ~ way
e' srS n to the chieftains by the T ,os.
for safe escort or run the risA
ing all their goods.