LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
| Hoggar Tuaregs | [Frontispiece] |
| FACING PAGE | |
| Barracks of the W.A.F.F. at Daru | [24] |
| River Moa, Sierra Leone | [24] |
| Baro Village | [60] |
| Native types at Kankan | [74] |
| M. Louis Novella at Sarafinian | [100] |
| A Senafou Native | [100] |
| Natives pounding rice at Tombola | [108] |
| The spread of Islam in the Western Soudan | [112] |
| The Railway Station and Hotel at Bamako | [122] |
| The Niger at Bamako | [122] |
| The Niger at Koulikoro | [134] |
| The Niger at Ségou | [134] |
| The Launch “Réné Caillé” | [152] |
| Steel Canoes on the Upper Niger | [152] |
| Mopti | [160] |
| A Captive Lioness at Mopti | [166] |
| Bambara Hunters | [194] |
| Canoes on the Bara-Issa | [196] |
| Women pounding rice | [202] |
| Fulanis at Bambara-Maaundé | [206] |
| Timbuctu | [220] |
| A scene outside the walls of Timbuctu | [224] |
| The departure from Gao | [250] |
| A Tuareg Herd, In Ouzel | [254] |
| The Wells of Tabankhor | [258] |
| A snapshot of the “King of Beasts” | [258] |
| My Kitchen in the Desert | [264] |
| The Sergeant of Tirailleurs | [268] |
| Méhariste Camels out at pasture | [272] |
| The Wells of Kidal | [276] |
| Sheep at the Wells of Bourassa | [286] |
| Tuareg hovels at In Ouzel | [286] |
| My Riding-Camel in the Sahara | [290] |
| My servant Musa in the Sahara | [302] |
| My Arab Guide Mahomed | [306] |
| Arab and Tuareg | [312] |
| Insalah Oasis | [316] |
| The Artesian Well of El Barka | [318] |
| The Market-place, Touggourt | [318] |
| The Spring of El Guettera | [324] |
| The Oasis of Ouargla | [328] |
| The Residency at Touggourt | [332] |
| Chamba Arabs at Touggourt | [332] |
| The Mosques at Ouargla | [334] |
| [Map] | |
THROUGH TIMBUCTU
AND
ACROSS THE GREAT SAHARA
CHAPTER I
Reasons for the journey — Selecting a servant — Preparations — The Sierra Leone Railway.
AFRICA, like India, seems often to cast a spell over those who visit it, and certainly at the end of 1909 I found myself under this curious fascination. I had spent some years soldiering in West Africa, and had often wished to explore the ramifications of the Upper and Middle Niger, but the difficulty of obtaining sufficient leave had been an insurmountable obstacle. My chance came at last, however, when I found myself quartered at Freetown, the capital of our British colony of Sierra Leone, and due for six months’ leave.
I determined to spend my furlough in a journey down the river from its source, making shooting excursions at suitable points in its basin, and directing my steps towards Timbuctu. From Timbuctu I proposed to cross the Sahara Desert, striking almost due north for Algiers. The strange tales I had often heard of this desert and the curious wandering tribes who inhabit it, interested me and made me wish to ascertain for myself the truth of them.
The first thing to be done was to get leave. In due course this was obtained, and at the same time I was informed that the French officials along my route had been told to offer me every facility for my journey.
In the meantime I had not been idle, as I was well aware of the time required before official sanction would be received. I had calculated the kind and amount of stores necessary, and these with my ammunition were on their way out from England.
In the Niger valley almost every kind of West African game is to be found, including elephant, lion and giraffe. My armament consisted of a ·303 magazine sporting Lee-Speed rifle, a ·450 Cordite Express and a 12-bore shot-gun. I took good care to be amply provided with ammunition, not only for sporting purposes, but also for self-defence, as my journey was not wholly without danger. I calculated on getting a good supply of fresh meat by my gun, and so my stores consisted chiefly of such articles as flour, tea, jam and some soups. I reckoned that the journey would take about five months, and had sufficient supplies to last me that time.