Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-08-29
Geographic News
Bulletins BY the
National Geographic Society
Lost Chapter I'm History

Lost Chapter I'm History
Lava preserved the secrets Of
Roman civilization in Pompeii;
tombs protected the records OF an
cient Egypt's culture; and now there
is prospect that some long neglect
ed letters may reveal n OF the
most fascinating chapters in the his
toriG trail OF the Jewish people, and
incidentally show hat Africa LOOM
ed larger in the Middle Ages than
modern historians have realized
With this introduction the Nation
al Geographic Society, in a bulletin
from its Washington headquarters.
makes the first announcement IN
this country Of a remarkable docu-
mentary discovery made by Charles
de la Ronciere, librarian of the Ma
tional Library in France.
Hitherto Africa has figured not
at all in medieval history. 1t still
was a dark continent when STAN
ley and Livingstone penetrated 1t
| less than a century ago. Yet, 1t
would seem Jews OF the fifteenth
century had trading posts In north
west Africa, and carried on a vast
commerce with the natives from the
Sahara to the Atlantic, and from AL
geria to the Niger.
These native peoples, who finally
resisted the inroads of Christian,
Jew and Mohammcdan, possessed
sources of wealth in grain and god.
Some tribes lived in rock salt
houses. Actual history in one case
parallels the Legendary account Of
the defense OF Troy. Primitive re-
ligions and strange custom Hour.
ished in common with a civilization
advanced enough to take accurate
census Of cities.
Antonio Malfante. a Genoese cit
izen, traversed this region and wrote
his descriptive letters, In l447, frLm
Timbuktu ad Touat. Timbuktu was
the Chicago of the West African
plains, and Touat the center Of The
camel raw traffic that exchanged
the wheat and barley of Egypt for
tn powdered gold of rimbuktu and
tho precious salt from T~eghAzza.
"All the places visited by NAL
fante were so we'll known to the
Jews of this time that they were
listed in a Catalan atlas prepared
three-quarters of a century earlier
for Charles V, according to M. Ron
ciere. But shortly after Malfante's
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 to Europe. Not
until DIR. Gerhard Rohlfs began his
explorations in Algeria and Morocco
in 1850 did the rest of the world
again form a contract with the ex-
tensive regions of Malfante's travels.
giers. Malfante worked his way south
to Touat, which Rohlfs believed
| himself to have been the first Euro
pean to visit. Yet Malfante dated
| his first letters from there four con-
turies earlier.
"Tousat was an aosis. containing
from $50 to 200 villages, which to-
gether formed a vast commercial
center. Each had a chief. Trav-
elers became the guests of these
chiefs, and Malfante reported their
protection superior to that in states
like Tlemcen and Tunis. One OF
these towns was Tamentit, nov a de-
cayed village, whose people still re-
vaders earlier had routed the Jews
who were masters of the Sahara and
whose empire extended south to the
Niger. Tamentit. Malfante wrote.
sheltered both Jews and Moham-
medans who lived in harmony .
1.-THE native negroes valued cop
per highly, Malfante stated. and used
It for money. Proiteering. appar-
entity, Is lot a modern vice. Mall
fante complained, The people here
do not want to transact any bust
ness, If they do not make a COM
mission of 100 per cent And their
business was on a big scale, at that.
Half a million head of cattle to
mention but one item, were brought
to market in tho season."