Hoggar Tuaregs near Ahnet Wells
These curious veiled people of the Sahara are said to have been driven out of North Africa many centuries ago. They were forced south into the desert, where they have ever since remained, seemingly preferring this lonely existence to contact with a more civilized world. The “litham,” or veil, covering the face is primarily designed to keep out the choking desert sand.
THROUGH TIMBUCTU
AND
ACROSS THE GREAT SAHARA
AN ACCOUNT OF AN ADVENTUROUS JOURNEY OF
EXPLORATION FROM SIERRA LEONE TO THE
SOURCE OF THE NIGER, FOLLOWING ITS
COURSE TO THE BEND AT GAO AND
THENCE ACROSS THE GREAT SAHARA
TO ALGIERS
BY
CAPTAIN A. H. W. HAYWOOD, F.R.G.S.
Royal Artillery
WITH 45 ILLUSTRATIONS & A MAP
LONDON
SEELEY, SERVICE & CO. LIMITED
38 GREAT RUSSELL STREET
1912
CONTENTS
| CHAPTER I |
| PAGE |
| Reasons for the journey — Selecting a servant — Preparations — The Sierra Leone Railway |
| [17] |
| CHAPTER II |
| Bush scenery — A night at Bo — The Frontier Force at Daru — Mendi and Kissy carriers — Cotton-growing — Secret societies — Poro and Bundu societies — Marriage customs — The Liberian frontier |
| [23] |
| CHAPTER III |
| Shooting in the grass-country — An unfortunate mishap — Doubtful pleasures of a journey — Sources of the Niger — A curious frontier rock — Bush fires — Bird life |
| [34] |
| CHAPTER IV |
| The Harmatan — Native burial rites — Koranko superstitions — The Anglo-French frontier — Solitude of a Customs post — A change of scenery — Smuggling — A change of carriers — Intoxicating liquor — The Upper Niger — A splendid spectacle — A good highway — Native music |
| [42] |
| CHAPTER V |
| Faranah — The Malinkés — Castes — Big game on the Mafou River — Native methods of hunting — Trapping — Ground nuts — The native trader — Kouroussa — Native types — French gardens — Native dances — Beehives — Fruit |
| [55] |
| CHAPTER VI |
| Samory and the Sofas — The Sofa wars — Desertion of my “boy” — Kouroussa and Kankan — Native horses — An inhospitable reception — Kankan — Trade at Kankan — The rubber vine — Native telegraphy — Personal adornment |
| [67] |
| CHAPTER VII |
| Hippopotami — Game in the Wasulu country — Lazy carriers — In pursuit of elephants — Fetish haartebeest — “Red” elephants — A fetish altar — Braimah’s juju — Charms and tests |
| [78] |
| CHAPTER VIII |
| Mamadu’s new hat — Tribal marks — Unreliable guides — A lonely prospector — Bolting carriers — A local chief — More trouble with carriers — Hunting eland — Sand-flies and mosquitoes — The headman’s duty — Undesirable presents — Jomongonas — A magnificent view — Jilingé — Gold — Superstition of the River Fie — A Niger ferry — An unappreciated delicacy — Fishing on the Niger |
| [89] |
| CHAPTER IX |
| Kob — A West African road — Characteristics of the Moors — The influence of Islam — The French Soudan — Kangaba — Hospitality — A picturesque market — Vexatious delays — African punctuality — A new acquaintance — Uncomfortable marching — Shea-butter — Its uses — A native toothbrush — Arrival at Bamako |
| [106] |
| CHAPTER X |
| Bamako — The Bambaras — An animated scene — The Kati Plateau — Dinner with the Governor — Government House — Game in the “Bend” of the Niger — The Senegal-Niger Railway — Bamako market — The hotel |
| [120] |
| CHAPTER XI |
| Koulikoro — Niger Navigation Service — Rapids on the Niger — The Hourst Expedition — An explorer’s death — Horse-breeding |
| [133] |
| CHAPTER XII |
| On a river launch — Salutations — Crocodiles — An evening halt — Camping on the bank — Tobacco-growing — Cotton-growing — Garrison mess life — Irksome travelling — An enlightened ruler — An excellent shooting-ground — A holy city — Kadis — Architecture — Sails of grass — Picturesque pilots — A strike in the engine-room — Flat country |
| [143] |
| CHAPTER XIII |
| A land of inundations — River transport in the Macina Province — The “King of Mopti” — Mopti — Prospects of the rice trade — Shooting wart-hog — Native huts — The protection of egrets — A lion as a pet — A dangerous joke — Scarcity of wood — The white ant — The driver ant |
| [157] |
| CHAPTER XIV |
| Fulani cattle — Lake Dhebo — Duck shooting — Teal — A tough bird — The Niger River winds — Towing a barge — Niafounké — The edge of the Sahara — Stalking birds — Sheep-farming — Developing the wool trade — Raided by a leopard — Ostrich-farming |
| [171] |
| CHAPTER XV |
| Game on the Issa-Ber — Hiring a canoe — A leaky craft — Borgou grass — Fish tanks — Sebi — Tracks of lions — Good wildfowl shooting — Tortures of a native saddle — Mamadu’s horsemanship — A flat country — Fulani villages — Saraféré — Desert winds — Niger canoes — Hardy hunters — Ancient fire-arms — Lion shooting — The Fulanis |
| [184] |
| CHAPTER XVI |
| Land near the Bara-Issa — Tuaregs — A salt caravan — Stalking hartebeest — Lake Niangaye — The village of Kanioumé — My runaway horse — Tracking elephants — Elephants bathing — A stampede of elephants — A wounded elephant — Cave dwellers — Sandstorms and rifles |
| [201] |
| CHAPTER XVII |
| Bullocks — Pelicans on Lake Niangaye — Stalking ostriches — Friendly Tuaregs — Lakes and swamps — By canoe to Timbuctu — An intricate route — Horses of the Sonrhais — Kabara — Timbuctu — A quaint desert city — A change of route — A steel canoe — Yakubu — Explorers — Réné Caillé — Barth — Scenes in Timbuctu — The Sonrhay empire — Mosques — Salt trade — Saharan sirocco — Desert caravans |
| [217] |
| CHAPTER XVIII |
| Preparing to cross the desert — Articles for barter - My barge - My new “boy” — My crew — Stranded — A miserable people — “Cram-cram” — Borgou — Bamba — Under sail — A variety of game — The defile of Tosaye — The “Oued Telemsi” — A curious coloured clay — Gao — A lazy class — Mosques at Gao — A perilous journey — Giraffe |
| [233] |
| CHAPTER XIX |
| Loading a camel — Water vessels — My camels — My caravan — Nomads of the Sahara — Vegetation of the desert — Country of the Kountahs — Line of wells — Rainfall — My tent — Gazelle — Fowls of the desert — A trying march — Ill-used animals — How to mount a camel — Moroseness of the camel — Vagaries of the camel — An unpleasant feature — Uncomfortable riding |
| [248] |
| CHAPTER XX |
| An unreliable guide — Relief — Typical scenery — Game in the “oueds” — A dreary scene — The effect of the sun — A breakdown — Kidal — Reorganization — A veiled people — The Iforas — Tuaregs and Iforas — Iforas as camel-masters — Adrar — I abandon my bath — The value of dates — French couriers — A solitary post — Relics of the Stone Age — Relics of former nations |
| [263] |
| CHAPTER XXI |
| The camel’s reserve store — Variations of temperature — The Sahara by moonlight — Halley’s Comet — Wells of Abeibera — Tea in the desert — Difficult bargaining — Enduring donkeys — Saharan game — A dry well — Missing camels — In Ouzel — An indifferent boundary — Unpleasant recollections — A change in the desert — Saharan shrubs — Welfare of the camel |
| [279] |
| CHAPTER XXII |
| The dreaded Tanezrouft — Camel saddles — The wells of Timissao — A valuable plant — A night march — An improvised shelter — Sandstorms — Enemies to sleep — Gloomy scenery — The water supply — An exhausting struggle — The wells of Ahnet — Instinct of the guides — Protecting the water-skins |
| [294] |
| CHAPTER XXIII |
| The Ahnet or Western Hoggar — A bad reputation — Tuareg highwaymen — A salt well — A barren region — We reach Insalah — A dramatic entrance — Colonel Laperine — Insalah — Its importance — Resources — Artesian wells — Varieties of dates — Pasturage — The streets |
| [310] |
| CHAPTER XXIV |
| Disturbing news — En route for Algiers — A remarkable man — Horses at Insalah — Hospitality of French officers — Slavery amongst the Arabs — An unusual sight — A pathetic story — My own valet and cook — A precipitous track — The “Great Erg” — Hassy Inifel — An incompetent guide — Lost — A useful camel-driver — A hospitable Arab chief — An unappetizing menu — The dates of Ouargla — Touggourt — A ramshackle coach — Biskra |
| [322] |
| CHAPTER XXV |
| By rail to Algiers — A difficult project — The resources of the Sahara |
| [338] |
| Appendix |
| [341] |
| Index |
| [343] |