Exploration of Aïr

by Angus Buchanan

To begin with: we were too late! Timia had been attacked and entered, and the robbers had left, heading south, about four hours ago. The disjointed story of the natives pieced together something in this form: The robbers had attacked Timia at dawn to-day, trying to terrorise the place. But the inhabitants had had warning the evening before, brought in by a woman, who had been with the donkeys, which the robbers had come across, and who had fled undetected some little time before the bandits had reached the animals. So that the Timia natives (who were unfortunately without the leadership of their chief Fougda: reputed to be an able man in circumstances of danger) were already secreted among the rocks in the gorge at dawn awaiting the robbers. Also they had wisely sent a man to where their camels were grazing south-west of Timia, with instructions that they were to be driven with all haste on to the Baguezan plateau (an order which events proved was not explicitly obeyed). Therefore, when the robbers advanced, they found the natives waiting for them, and, apparently, regular guerilla warfare ensued which lasted for some hours. It would appear that the Timia natives were foolish, and blazed off their ammunition at ineffective range; for, apparently, they did not hit a single robber, while they completely exhausted their scant supplies of ammunition. On the other hand the robbers were very daring and wily in attack and better marksmen, also they had modern rifles and plenty of ammunition (later I picked up a full clasp—6 rounds— of ·303 Italian ammunition and some empty cases of Turkish ammunition of about ·44 calibre).

About noon the village was completely at the mercy of the robbers, and they entered where they willed. But, be it said to their credit, they made no attempt to wreak vengeance on the people or their dwellings, and they carried off neither quantities of food nor goats nor women. Their sole purpose was to steal camels, and as none were in the village or near by, they forthwith forced the old headman, whom they had captured, to guide them out of the village and take them to where the camels were to be found.

This was as far as their story went. At the time we arrived in Timia the robbers were somewhere to the south, searching for the camels belonging to the natives.

I was in a quandary, for I felt sure the robbers could yet be caught, yet if I led the goumiers against the robbers without real personal cause and failed to rout them, or suffered heavy casualties, I might be asked awkward questions by the French authorities and be asked to leave the country; which would be disastrous to the interests of the expedition. Therefore, after due consideration of my position as a civilian in a foreign land, which barred me from pursuing the enemy with no other purpose than to force a fight, I called the chief goumier and Atagoom, and told them that I was certain that if their captain at Agades knew they were close to robbers, he would expect them to follow them up, while, if they did not, he would be sure to be vastly displeased—this was, I felt, as far as I could go in the matter. And my reasoning bore fruit, for the goumiers agreed to follow the robbers, reinforced by five armed natives of Timia, and though both men and beasts were terribly tired, having travelled since 4.30 in the morning, they set out to follow the tracks of the robbers just as it was growing dusk.

As soon as I had got them away, I sent the half-dozen unarmed men remaining in Timia to look for wounded, and before retiring to rest dressed, as best I could, with warm water and bandages, three bad cases which they brought in: one of whom I did not expect to live.

The old headman wearily returned to Timia at night, leaning heavily on his staff and barely able to walk, for, besides his trying experiences in the hands of the robbers, he was slightly wounded in the chin and right knee. The robbers had released him when they had sighted the camels they sought. He said the robbers were Hogar, and the band comprised twelve camels (as the goumiers had accurately read from the mingled tracks in the sand), fourteen men, and thirteen rifles. (Those robbers sometimes mount two men on one camel.)

Timia, 20th June.—Spent an uneventful night alone: no further disturbance.

This morning a few natives begin to appear out of hiding and come to my camping-place to express their gladness that I have returned to protect them. (For they have great faith in the powers of any white man.) They are still in a state of panic, and most of the women and children remain hidden among the rocks in the mountain sides afraid to come in, especially as they fear a second band which the robbers declared would follow them in a day or two; a declaration which proved without truth, and circulated by the robbers solely to intimidate the populace and prevent the men of Timia from leaving the neighbourhood to follow them. For my own part I remain camped in the open by the edge of the dry river-bed, in spite of remonstrance from the old headman, who wanted me also to hide in the hills; and before the end of the day my apparent indifference had helped to restore native confidence.

During the day five more wounded were brought in to be attended to, in addition to the three placed in my charge last evening: one of whom had died during the night.

The goumiers returned late to-night, reporting they had not caught up the robbers, who had succeeded in capturing (about midway between Timia and Baguezan plateau) and driving off thirty-two camels. The native guarding the camels, who had unfortunately dallied in executing the order to drive the camels rapidly away into Baguezan, had been caught by the robbers and disrobed of everything he possessed except a leather loincloth.