South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1920-03-31
Neglected Letters May
ReUeaL Je7UiSh History

Lava preserved the secrets OF
Roman civilization in PompeH,
tombs protected the record OF an
cient Egypts culture; and now
there Is PROJECT that soma long
neglected letters may reveal one OF
the most fascinating chapters in the
historic trail OF the Jewish people.
and incidentally show that Africa
doomed larger in the Middle Ages
than modern historians have rea-
lied
With this Introduction the VA
tional Geographic society. in a bulle-
Tin from its Washington headquar-
tiers. makes the first announcement
in this country OF remarka Die
documentary discovery made by
Charles de a ROnciere. librarian OF
the National Library in France.
Hitherto Africa has figured not
a. all I'm medieval history. Il still
was a dark continent when stan
ley and Livingstone penetrated il
less than a century ago. Yet. IL
would seem Jews Of the 18th Centu-
~ had trading posts in northwest
Africa, and carried on n vast COM
merce with the natives from the
Sahara 20 the Atlantic and from AL
geria 20 the Niger.
These native people. who finally
resisted the inroads Of Christian.
jew and Mohammedan possessed
sources OF wealth I'm grain and gold.
Some tribes lived IN rock salt houses.
Actual history in one case parallels
the legendary account OF the defense
OF Troy. Primitive religions and
strange customs fiourished in COM
mon with a civilization advanced
enough TO take accurate census OF
cities.
Antonio Malfante. Genoese
citizen. traversed this region and
wrote his descriptive letters. in 1447,
from Timbuktu and TOuat. Tim
buktu was the Chicago OF the west
African plains; and Touat the cen
ter OF the camel caravan traffic that
/ exchanged the wheat and barley OF
/ Egypt for the powdered gold OF
Timbuktu and the precious salt
from Teghazza.
"AI the places visited by Mel
/ fante were so well known 10 the
i Jews of his time that they were
| listed IN Catalan atlas prepared
| three-Quarters OF a century earlier
! for Charles V. according to NJ. Ron
| ClGTe. but SuOIllJ dAltl -hdAAdAlNt >
visit, the Jews were driven out of
! Spain, and since the Jews were the
/ only ones in Europe who knew of
the Nigeria country. and apparently
permitted no Christian TO enter
there except Malfante. the Jewish
knowledge was lost 10 Europe. Not
until DR.. Gerhard Rohlfs began his
explorations in Algeria and Morroc-
co in 1850 did the rest OF the world
again form n contact with the en-
tensive regions Of Malfante's trav-
els
Landing at a point west OF AL
giera. Malfante worked his way
south to TOuat, which Rohlfs be-
lieved himself 10 have been the first
European 10 visit Yet Malfante
dated his first letter from there
four centuries earlier.
"Touat was an oasis. containing
from $50 TO 200 villages. which to-
gether formed a vast commercial
center. Each had a chief. Travellers
became the guests OF these chiefs,
and Malfante reported their protec-
ton superior to that in states like
Tlemoen and Tunis. One of these
towns was Tamentit. now a decayed
village, whose people still recall the
Jewish epoch Arabian invaders
earlier had routed the Jews who
were masters OF the Sahara and
whose empire extended south to the
Niger. Tamentit, Malfante wrote.