We arrived at Bamako a strange-looking party. I was tanned a deep brown colour from long exposure to the fierce sun of the Soudan. My clothes were luckily khaki, or the state of my garments would have been even more noticeable than it actually was. I was much in need of a thorough overhaul and repair! Mamadu was in a far worse plight than his master; his long, white robe and white, baggy trousers were in rags, and certainly looked as if they had been any colour but white even in their palmiest days. Small wonder that the good people of Bamako were astonished at the strange figures they saw entering the town that afternoon. Crowds of small boys and idlers turned out to watch and follow our small caravan as it wended its way slowly into the big market-place. I am sure we must have looked like some wild men from the woods!
With some difficulty I got someone to show me the road to the Commissioner’s bungalow, where I was anxious to report myself before finding a lodging-place.
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.
THE first sight of Bamako to the traveller is, indeed, a strange one. After walking through miles upon miles of bush and seeing nothing more imposing than a native village, one suddenly is amazed to behold a fine large town, with wide boulevards and solidly built stone houses, nestling close to the foot of the Kati Escarpment, with the placid waters of the Niger flowing past the east end of the cantonment. Bamako is planned on the lines of a town in France, and when walking down one of the shady avenues I could have imagined myself in a provincial French town on a hot summer’s day. Bamako is the capital of the “Upper Senegal and Niger Colony,” and the head-quarters of the Lieutenant-Governor and Administration. The European population is a large one. It includes no less than fifteen trading firms, each of which has several French employés. There are a very large number of officials, and several of the staff of the Senegal-Niger Railway. A number of these gentlemen bring their wives to the country.
When I was at Bamako there were about a dozen ladies, who were very excited at the prospect of a fancy-dress ball which was to take place shortly. It was very surprising to find such civilization in the middle of the Western Soudan, and the town is a testimony to the energy of the French administration in West Africa. The houses now being built have two storeys and fine wide verandahs; water will be laid on to each one and the streets will soon be lighted by electricity. I was directed to the Commissioner’s bungalow, a well-built house in the centre of the town. He received me with all the courteous solicitude which the French nation so peculiarly knows how to show to the foreigner. After he had given me all possible assistance and information, I was invited to déjeuner the following Saturday and shown the way to the hotel where I was to stay.
Having sent on my kit, I proceeded to the offices of the French Company, the trading firm which had arranged my money affairs for me at Sierra Leone. Here I was introduced to the agent, a most agreeable Frenchman, with whom I had a conversation about the funds which had been deposited with him in my favour. I had calculated the money I required for my journey from Freetown to Bamako to a nicety, and was very glad to be now able to draw a further supply. Here, also, it was necessary to arrange for further drafts to be made payable to me at Timbuctu or some place down the Niger, close to my intended starting-point for the desert. Unfortunately the French Company had no branches open in the Soudan on the route I proposed to follow, and I foresaw difficulties looming ahead if I should be obliged to carry large sums on my person or in my loads. My chief fear was on the score of robbers. Having no escort, and not having too much faith in my servant’s honesty, it seemed highly imprudent to carry with me more cash than was absolutely necessary.
However, my friend the agent was most obliging and promised to try to arrange matters for me with another firm which had a house at Timbuctu. It may come as a surprise to some people to hear that French trading firms do actually exist at this point, which, I must acknowledge, to me had always seemed like a mythical place rather than a reality. But so it was. Two or three enterprising firms had pushed hundreds of miles down the Niger, anxious to be the first to tap the trade of this little-known region.
I had decided after my talk with the Commissioner to take the train from Bamako to Koulikoro, and at that point to embark on the Niger. There were two alternatives open to me, either to charter my own barge, or to take a passage on a Government launch. If there was sufficient water in the river the latter would be the quicker way, and therefore the most advantageous for me. On the other hand, should the river be very low I should do better to sail and pole down-stream in the barge, which draws considerably less water than the launch. I therefore wired to the offices of the Niger Navigation at Koulikoro asking which would be the surest and quickest kind of transport to take. The following day the reply came advising me to take passage on a launch which would leave about the 1st of March.
At Bamako the roads are excellent and horses numerous, so that many people possess a vehicle and drive a good deal. Of course, most of the traps come out from France, but I saw one or two which had been locally made and were first-rate copies of the French model. So far motor-cars have not been introduced, but I have not the least doubt that they will shortly make their appearance in this go-ahead African town. The roads are quite good enough, and I was informed that most of the bridges would require but little strengthening for this purpose. One afternoon I went for a stroll towards the river. On the way I passed through the native town, which is kept in spick-and-span order like the rest of Bamako.