The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1916-09-27
MASKED 1uA 4
Ruthless Buccaneerssof the Mid.
1 die Sahara Desert.
At WAR WITH ALL MANKIND.

l
These Nomads Of the TraekIess Sand'
Of Northern Africa Levy Tribute
Upon All Caravans They Meet ane
7 Livs ~ Mystsry ind txclusivsness.
EBGt RGm aHt ,a1I -GGtJigG iGta ~. .g =,
q I'm northern, "A frica there Hes truce,
less country, inhabited by a people,
the masked Tuaregs, fascinating. for
the mystery and exclusiveneess with
which they have surrounded their llfe.
These people. natives and rulersso the
middle desert, are the allies of no one.
but wage a furtive guerrilla warfare
with all who invade the inhospitable
Sahara sands of their domain. They
are the buccaneers Of the trackless
sand, forever at war with all ctviliza-
ton and its restraints" says an article
issued by the National Geographic SO
ciety at Washington, which describes
the people always willing to fight for
the maintenance of their power to levy
tribute upon the ancient transsaharan
caravan routes. ~
Masked Tuaregs are Berber no
MAIDS, a white. desert people, whose
country Is probably the most inaccessi-
BILE 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.
vasion OF the eleventh century dts
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 came into their painless coun-
try, they have maintained themselves
through the intervening centuries de-
spite lack OF water. sandstorms and
lack of farming land, requisitioning 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 luxuries as
their cherries portion OF Mother Earth
cannot supply them.
"There are five main tribes In the
Tuareg confederation. and they inhabit
the desert from Tuat to Timbuktu
and from Fezzan to Finder. Their
homes are reared in the heart of arid
wastes, where vast solitudes, unnat-
ural heats and unmarked distances
sllroud everything in uncanny mys.
terry. They are masters Of an ares
half that of the United States in ex-
tent. OF this 100000 square miles Of
territory scarcely 5000 acres. or less
than the area Of New York city. is cul.
tivated land. This scanty farm land
Is only maintained by an !. enduring
struggle with the drifting sands
These fierce adventurers who have
forced the great desolation to yield
them support number 100000 or
more, according to estimate, and they
have made themselves feared by the
natives from the Mediterranean to the
jungles of central Africa. .,..,. !.
'The Tuaregs wear the end of their
turban cloth drawn around the face,
allowing nothing but the eyes to be
seen. It is worn for the purpose OF
luC lAAOuk anu lungs LAVAL
the cutting blasts of fine desert sand
and also probably as an element en-
HANGING the mystery Of their life, fO-
they seldom or never remove these
masks. whether rowing over the desert
or visiting in the cities on the coast:
Due to these cloths they are called
masked Tuaregs. while the Arabs call
them people Of the vell.' The masks
are dark blue and white, the former
being worn by Tuareg mobiles and the
latter by the serfs and slaves.
'.some centers for trade, Yuaree
towns, are situated in the middle des-
ert. These are Wargla, Timbuktu.
Chat, Ghadames, Murzuk and Insalah.
However, the Tuareg has little care
for trade and industry. He Is q fear
less, enduring, hard fighting adventur-
er along the merchandise trails that
cross the desert. Two important trails
leave Tripoli, on the coast, and trav-
erse 5000 miles of sands and barren
wastes to the Sudan, where rich car
goes Of skins, gold, ivory and other
Interior African products are loaded
upon camels and brought northward.
Sometimes a single caravan consists
Of thousands of caniels and merchan-
disc to the value Of hundreds of thou
sands Of dollars. When passing
through the Tuareg country the leaders
of such caravans have had to pay 9
tribute to the chieftains by the way
for safe escort or run the risk of losing
all their goods.
"From Morocco to Tripoli the relent-
less ferocity, the cunning and the dar-
ing Of the Tuareg are mingled in all tho
traditions unpleasant to the more
peaceful natives along the coast. The
Tuaregs meanwhile openly spy upon
the caravans, in course of sotltfltting in
the coast: cities and thrive upon the
tribute they are able to, exact
h, 1.-THE Tuaregs are Of the purest Ber-
Der stock, the noble families unmixed
with other blood and inc their own Ian.
guage they acall themselves the noble
people. Nominally they are Moham1
medans, and some of their number
compose the most intolerant and war.
like sect in Islam, the Senussite sect
Their hatred for the foreigner is great.
er even than that bred by their re-
ligion, and so they are more exclusive
than ever were the Chinese or Japa-
,,o.a y,I,oiw e,oc{nl orO0 tioU III.