The Tomahawk. [volume] (White Earth, Becker County, Minn.) 1903-192?, 1916-09-28
BUCCANEERS OF THE DESERT
Masked Tuaregs Acknowledge No Allie
glance and Wage War With
Al! Civilization.

Masked Tuaregs Acknowledge No AI'e-
glance and Wage War With
Al! 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-
ple, natives and rulers OF the Mlddle
Desert, are the allies of no one, but
wage a furtive guerrilla warfare VIII
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 ana
it's restraints, begins a war geography
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 inacces-
sible on earth. Even before Egyptian
civilization began to leave coherent
records of it's history the Tuaregs, or
Berbers, were long established along
northern Africa. The great Arab IN
vasion 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 ana
lack of farming lands, requisltlonlng
bv force of arms from the Arabs ana
Egyptians, to the north and east, ana
from the blacks of the Sudan, IN the
south, such necessities and luxurles
as their cheerless portion Of mother
earth cannot supply them.
There are five main tribes In the
Tuareg confederation and they jnhab'
it the desert from Tuat to Timhnktu,
and from Fezzan to Finder. Thelr
homes are reared in the heart Of arid
wastes, where vast solitudes, unnat-
ural heats and unmarked distances
shroud everything in uncanny mys-
terry. They are masters OF an area
half that of the United States in ex-
tent. OF this 100000 square miles or
territory, scarcely 5000 acres, or less
than the area of New York city, 1s
cultivated land. This scanty farm
land is only maintained by an en-
during struggle with the drifting
sands. These fierce adventures, who
have forced the great desolation to
yield them a support, number 3O0,O0O'
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
protecting the throat and lungs from
the cutting blasts of fine desert sand,
and also probably as an element en-
HANGING the mystery of their life, for
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 Veil. 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, Tuareg
towns, are situated in the Middle
Desert. These are Wargla, Timbuktu.
Chat, Ghadames, Murzuk and 1nsalah.
However, the Tuareg has little cares
for trade and industry. He is fear
less, enduring, hard-fghting adven-
turer along the merchandise trails
that cross the desert. Two importane
trails leave Tripoli, on the coast, and
traverse 5000 miles Of sand and bar
rem wastes to the Sudan, where rich
cargoes Of skins, gold, ivory and other
interior African products are loaded
upon camels and brought northward.
Sometimes a single caravan consists
of thousands of came1s and merchan-
disc to the value of hundreds of thou
sands OF dollars. When passing
through the Tuareg country the lead
ers Of such caravans have had to pay
a tribute to the chieftains by the way
for safe escort or run the risk Of los'
ing all their goods