,transcriber's note3 ,this article has  
been extracted and prepared from  ,the  
,geographical ,journal1 v4 #ef1 #aibj4  
,,the ,,exploration ,,of ,,tibesti1     
,,erdi1 ,,borkou1 ,,and ,,ennedi ,,in   
#aiab-aiag3 ,a          ,mission        
entrusted to the ,author by the ,french 
,institute          ,lieut4-,colonel    
,jean ,tilho1 ,gold ,medallist of the   
,r4,g4,s4 #aiai       ,read at the      
,meeting of the ,society1 #ai ,january  
#aibj4 ,map following p4                
#afj4    ,note3 ,the names in the text  
are spelled in accordance with the      
manuscript of ,colonel ,tilho1 a few of 
the principal names--as ,chad--in  their
 ,english form1 but the greater number  
in the ,french transliteration  of      
,arabic4 ,on the accompanying map the   
names are transliterated  according to  
the ,g4,s4,g4,s4 rules for transposing  
from the ,french to the  ,british       
system4 ,the retention of the ,french   
spelling in the text has the  double    
advantage of familiarizing the student  

with the two systems1 and  of preserving
 in some degree the character of the    
lecture1 which was  delivered in        
,french4--,,ed4 ,g4,j4      #a4 ,object 
of the ,mission4      ,,before ,i begin 
my lecture1 allow me to express once    
more1 in your  presence1 my heartfelt   
gratitude to the ,council of the ,royal 
,geographical ,society for the high     
recompense accorded me on the occasion  
of my last journey in ,central ,africa4 
,it is of this journey1 its chief       
incidents1 and most important results1  
that ,i am about to have the honour of  
giving some account4 ,let me first  of  
all explain to you1 in a few words1     
what1 from a geographical point  of     
view1 was the object of my expedition4  
,explorations in ,central ,africa1 made 
during the second half of the           
nineteenth century and in the beginning 
of the twentieth1 had left  unsolved a  
very interesting problem3 it had been   
noticed that the level  of vast         
stretches of desert1 several hundred    

miles north-east of ,lake  ,chad1 were  
considerably lower than that of the     
lake--the difference  amounting in some 
places to #bfj feet2 besides this1 a    
wide continuous  trench1 offering the   
appearance of an old valley--the ,bahr  
,el ,ghazal--led  from the lake to this 
low-lying ground1 and seemed to stretch 
far away  to the north-east1 between the
 mountain groups of ,tibesti and        
,ennedi4 ,on  proceeding towards the    
north-east1 an increasing analogy is to 
be  noticed between the malacological   
fauna of the ,chad basin and that of    
the ,nile4 ,besides which there had been
 found recently1 in the waters of  the  
,chad1 a shrimp till then only found in 
the ,nile basin--the ,palmon            
,niloticus1 ,roux4 ,in short1 all these 
signs appeared to confirm the           
supposition that the basin of the ,chad 
was not a closed basin1 but  belonged to
 that of the ,nile1 and was a former    
affluent of the old river  on whose     
banks had sprung up and flourished one  

of the most brilliant  and ancient      
civilizations of the world4    ,this was
 the hypothesis that the ,french        
,institute wished to have  investigated1
 and in the early part of #aiab ,i had  
the honour to be  chosen to undertake   
the necessary researches4 ,may ,i tell  
you how the  mission thus entrusted to  
me fulfilled my dearest wish8 ,from my  
early  youth ,i had felt myself         
irresistibly drawn towards ,africa1 and 
,i was  filled with a desire to take a  
modest share in the discoveries of great
  explorers1 whose intrepid expeditions 
had revealed to the civilized  world    
some part of the mysterious and immense 
dark continent4    ,you doubtless       
remember how vague1 some thirty years   
ago1 was our  knowledge of that part of 
the world4 ,at that time--which now     
seems so far  away even for those then  
living--,i had for chaplain at the      
grammar-school  a holy man who was an   
ardent patriot2 in his ,sunday sermons  
he used to  talk to us a little of our  

duty to ,god1 and still more of our duty
 to  our humiliated country1 which was  
waiting and meditating1 as it  laboured1
 on the possible reparation of the      
iniquities of #ahga4 ,his  voice1 sad at
 first while he spoke of our disasters  
and the sufferings  of our lost         
provinces1 soon grew eager and thrilled 
as he showed us the  new way to be taken
 by children1 as we then were1 to raise 
the prestige  of our flag3 he would     
speak to us of that mysterious ,africa1 
half  revealed by ,livingstone1         
,stanley1 and ,savorgnan de ,brazza2 and
 ,i fancy1  after these thirty years1 ,i
 still hear the sound of the name of    
,savorgnan de ,brazza re-echoing through
 our humble chapel and thrilling  like a
 bugle-call4 ,then1 of an evening in the
 class-room1 ,i would ponder  over the  
map of ,africa1 where amid great blank  
spaces appeared in the  centre of the   
continent a few geographical features1  
one of which1  coloured in blue1 ,lake  
,chad1 possessed a singular fascination 

for me4    ,some years later1 on leaving
 ,saint-,cyr1 ,i began to look forward  
to the  realizing of my dream3 after a  
first campaign in ,madagascar1 ,i was   
sent  out to serve on the banks of the  
,niger in #ahii2 and since that date    
each  successive campaign in ,africa    
allowed me to push a little further     
eastwards1 and so get to work on a fresh
 item of the programme ,i had set       
myself to carry out3 to establish an    
accurate geographical liaison  between  
the basins of the ,niger1 the ,chad1 and
 the ,nile1 and unite by a  great       
transversal line the extreme ends of the
 routes followed by  ,nachtigal to      
,tibesti1 ,borkou1 ,wadai and ,dar      
,four4    ,in #aiab ,i was ordered to   
take command of the province of ,kanem  
for the  purpose of preparing a         
projected expedition against ,borkou1   
where the  ,senoussists had established 
their chief centre of agitation and     
anti-  ,french propaganda1 and whence   
they periodically sent out plundering   

expeditions1 which spread ruin and      
desolation among the peaceful tribes    
placed under our protection4 ,about the 
same time1 the ,acadmie des             
,inscriptions et ,belles-,lettres       
entrusted me with the mission ,i        
mentioned  above1 concerning the        
supposed connection between the basins  
of the ,chad  and of the ,nile4 ,of this
 latter expedition1 which lasted five   
years  --#aiab-aiag--;,i now propose to 
give you a rsum4      #b4 ,from ,congo  
to ,borkou4      ,from ,congo to ,lake  
,chad4--,i do not think there would be  
any real  interest in a detailed account
 of my journey to ,kanem2 ,i followed a 
route pretty well known1 the            
,congo-,ubangi-,shari route4 ,we left   
the  steamer at ,matadi1 at the foot of 
the cataracts1 and took the ,belgian    
railway which leads to ,kinshassa on    
,stanley ,pool1 at the head of the      
cataracts2 from there1 after crossing   
the ,congo to land at ,brazzaville1  we 
proceeded on a river-steamer1 first up  

the ,congo itself1 and then up  its     
tributary the ,ubangi1 as far as        
,bangui4 ,farther up1 lighter steamers  
enabled us to surmount the rapids and   
reach ,fort ,de ,possel1 a little  post 
built on the right bank at the point    
where the ,ubangi changes its  course4  
,from ,fort ,de ,possel we went by land 
to ,fort ,crampel1 covering  nearly #afj
 miles of the zone which divides the    
waters between the basins  of the ,congo
 and the ,chad4 ,a fine road for        
motor-cars was being  completed when ,i 
passed1 but the only means of transport 
was carriers on  foot4 ,at ,fort        
,crampel we embarked in small boats and 
descended the  ,gribingui till it falls 
into the ,bahr-,sara1 taking farther    
down the name  of ,shari2 from thence we
 proceeded on a river-steamer up the    
,shari till  we reached the ,chad1 and  
crossed over to the post of ,bol1 on the
  northern shore of the lake2 and       
finally1 in four more stages1 we reached
  by land the town of ,mao1 the military

 and political centre of ,kanem4        
,this journey1 which takes about twelve 
or fourteen weeks1 according to  the    
season1 is very interesting for         
travellers1 and especially for          
sportsmen1 who find opportunity for     
exercising their skill on game of  all  
sizes1 from the elephant and the lion to
 the modest guinea-fowl4 ,i  may mention
 that when ,i passed by the banks of the
 ,shari1 the  remembrance of the        
exciting hunts of the celebrated aviator
 ,latham1  killed by a buffalo1 was     
still fresh in every one's mind2 but    
does any  one remember ,latham now8 ,we 
should notice that this line is still   
far  from comfortable1 and that the     
ever-present danger of catching the     
sleeping sickness through the myriads of
 glossina-flies that may sting  the     
traveller1 spoils all the pleasure one  
would feel in beholding the  splendid   
landscapes of tropical rivers flowing   
beneath the shady arches  of the quiet  
forests4    ,a ,year in ,kanem          

7#aiab-aiac74--;,i will pass briefly    
over the twelve  months' period of my   
command in ,kanem and the neighbouring  
districts4 ,my  daily task--military1   
political1 administrative1 and judicial 
as well--was  such that the days seemed 
too short for the business to be done4  
,it must  be said indeed that the       
,kanembus1 the ,budumas1 the ,toubous1  
and the  ,arabs of this region may be   
reckoned among the most quarrelsome and 
litigious people one can imagine4       
,but the great matter was to be informed
 in time of the ,senoussist raids1  and 
when that could not be done1 to discover
 and cut off their retreat  towards     
their distant haunts2 but we had to do  
with old stagers of the  ,sahara1 who   
knew admirably well to wait for the     
right moment1 and beat a  rapid retreat 
with their booty once the thing was     
done4    ,another important matter was  
the material preparation for the        
expedition  planned against ,borkou and 
,tibesti1 where the ,senoussists        

assembled  their bands of brigands1 and 
where they concealed their booty3       
camels1  horses1 cattle1 and1 above all1
 women and children1 carried off into   
slavery4    ,the secrecy of this        
expedition was ensured through the      
simple fact that  our enemies' spies had
 so often announced the formation and   
imminent  setting out of a punitive     
column1 as to render the ,borkou        
gentlemen  quite incredulous of its     
possibility2 they were startled1        
however1 when  in ,july ,i led a        
reconnoitring party to the extreme      
limits of our  frontier1 but as ,i      
retraced my steps without going beyond  
this line1  they were confirmed in their
 opinion that we should not dare to     
attack  their fortress of ,ain ,galakka1
 and they recommenced more boldly than  
ever their incursions and plunderings   
among our villages and our tribes4  ,for
 this reason1 when1 in the early        
,november of #aiab1 ,colonel ,largeau   
came and assumed the command of an      

expeditionary column1 our departure  for
 the north-east was not considered by   
the ,senoussists of ,borkou as  more    
threatening to them than any            
reconnoitring party of the preceding    
months had proved to be4      #c4 ,in   
,borkou4      ,the ,conquest of         
,borkou4--,our expedition consisted of  
#djj black  soldiers1 with two          
mountain-guns2 about #bjj ,arab and     
,toubou volunteers1  forming a 8goum0 or
 party of scouts1 accompanied the       
column4 ,we carried  with us provisions 
for forty days1 and the total number of 
our camels  was about #bjjj4 ,by a      
rather extraordinary piece of good luck1
 our  forward march was not disturbed by
 the enemy4 ,the season was favourable1 
the days not being over-hot1 and the    
nights fairly cool2 the usual           
temperature at sunrise was about #fj    
,fahr41 but a very strong wind1  blowing
 from the north-east and raising        
blinding clouds of sand1 made it  seem a
 great deal colder4 ,our march was      

skilfully concealed as far as           
,kourouadi1 a point from which we could 
threaten the fortress of ,ain  ,galakka 
as easily as that of ,faya4 ,there1     
after allowing the troops a  day for    
rest and final preparation1 it was      
decided to strike a decisive  blow at   
,ain ,galakka1 the principal centre of  
the ,senoussist forces4    ,our column1 
leaving its convoy a dozen kilometres in
 the rear1 under a  guard of fifty men1 
appeared before ,ain ,galakka on the    
morning of #bg  ,november #aiac2 the    
enemy were completely surprised4 ,the   
attack began by  a bombardment of no    
more than about a hundred shells1 which 
did great  damage inside the zawia1 and 
made in the outer wall many a breach for
  the infantry to pass through4 ,the    
assault was opened at ten o'clock2 the  
defenders1 though not numerous1 offered 
a vigorous resistance1  preferring to   
die rather than surrender2 by mid-day   
the entire fortress  was in our hands4  
,we had about forty casualties1 of which

 a third were  killed4    ,illustration3
 ,,the ,,column ,,halted ,,at ,,the     
,,wells ,,of ,,kourouadi1 ,,borkou      
,illustration3 ,,the ,,fort ,,of        
,,berrier-,,fontaine1 ,,oasis ,,of      
,,faya    ,illustration3 ,,rocky        
,,country ,,between ,,the ,,oases ,,of  
,,yarda ,,and ,b,,do1  ,,borkou         
,illustration3 ,,dance ,,of ,,the       
,,nakazzas1 ,,oasis ,,of ,,faya1        
,,borkou    ,leaving our wounded in ,ain
 ,galakka with a small garrison1 we     
marched on  the zawia of ,faya1 which we
 entered without striking a blow on     
,december #a4 ,thence proceeding still  
farther into the desert1 we reached  in 
a week's time ,gouro1 a point #bjj      
kilometres north1 the religious and     
political centre of the ,senoussists in 
,central ,africa1 which was seized      
after a short struggle4 ,then1          
continuing its successful march towards 
the east1 the column took possession    
unopposed of the oasis of ,ounianga1    
#fj miles from ,gouro1 and leaving a    

small garrison there we returned to     
,faya1 the best place to be chosen for  
the military and political centre  of   
the newly conquered territory4          
,importance of the ,conquest of         
,borkou4--,this laborious campaign had  
the  very important result of depriving 
the ,senoussists of the valuable tte  de
 pont on the south side of the ,sahara  
which ,borkou constituted for  them1    
enabling them to distribute over        
,central ,africa arms1 ammunition1  and 
propagandists of the holy war4    ,the  
great value of our conquest appeared    
plainly a few months later1  when the   
,german ,emperor let loose on the world 
the most awful war that  ever convulsed 
the ,universe3 a ,germano-,turkish      
mission1 headed by ,nuri  ,bey1 a       
brother of ,enver ,pasha1 the ,turkish  
,minister of ,war1 landed in  ,cyrenaica
 for the purpose of organizing1 with the
 help of the  ,senoussists1 an outbreak 
in ,central ,africa against the         
protectorates  of ,france and ,great    

,britain4 ,this would have been an easy 
matter if our  enemies had been able to 
establish their headquarters in ,borkou1
 for  they would then have been only a  
few hundred miles from ,german ,bornou  
on  one side1 and on another from ,dar  
,four and ,dar ,sula1 which showed a    
certain hostility towards us4 ,there is 
no doubt that1 in this case1 the        
,anglo-,french campaign in the          
,cameroons would have been conducted in 
very  different circumstances2 when we  
take into consideration the large stock 
of arms and ammunition prepared by the  
,germans in their colony1 and the  care 
they had taken to fortify the mountain  
of ,mora1 we may suppose that  the      
,german staff had hoped to establish by 
main force a continental  junction      
between the ,cameroons and ,turkey1     
through ,kanem1 ,borkou1 and  ,libya1 in
 case of the communication by sea being 
cut off4 ,and ,i do not  think ,i shall 
betray any ,state secret by informing   
you that the ,chad  territory1 with its 

modest resources in men and ammunition1 
would have  been very difficult to      
defend with any chance of success       
against such an  attack4 ,i may also add
 that1 had the ,turco-,germans been able
 to  accomplish their design1 the result
 would have been exceedingly perilous   
for ,franco-,british rule throughout the
 whole of ,dark ,africa4    ,by uniting1
 under my command1 our frontier         
territories of the ,libyan  desert1 the 
,french ,government's aim was to        
constitute a force able to  resist any  
attempts that might be made to retake   
from us the excellent  base of          
operations that ,borkou afforded4       
,four ,years in ,borkou                 
7#aiac-aiag74--;,i do not think it would
 be of any  great interest to lengthen  
this geographical lecture by explaining 
to  you the difficulties of every kind  
that ,i was obliged to overcome during  
about four consecutive years1 in order  
to fulfil the military task  allotted to
 me4 ,as ,borkou produces little else   

but dates1 and ,ennedi  scarcely        
anything at all1 ,i was compelled to    
procure from ,kanem and from  ,wada the 
corn1 meat1 and other food-stuffs       
necessary for the  maintenance of my    
civil and military subordinates4 ,now1  
the organizing  of the commissariat     
transport became more and more difficult
 every six  months2 the want of pasture 
along the roads we had to take1 the     
incessant raids of the nomads and the   
counter-raids of my troops1 caused      
irreparable losses among our camels4    
,from the end of #aiac to the first     
months of #aiag1 the activity of the    
rebels was so great1 owing to the       
instigation of the ,turco-,senoussists1 
that my troops could get no rest4    ,a 
,bird's-eye ,view of the                
,country4--,when on leaving the shores  
of ,lake  ,chad we proceeded towards the
 north-east1 we first entered into a    
sandy  region1 with parallel valleys    
running between grassy downs that rose  
to  a height of not more than #cjj feet3

 this was ,kanem1 the country of corn   
and cattle1 where subterranean water    
abounds and where it is easy to  live4  
,after marching for about #ajj miles1 we
 left this fertile country and  dropped 
quite suddenly into the desert itself1  
with its dull1 empty1  vague horizons1  
so monotonous that the slightest details
 interested us1  such as a line of      
stones on the sand1 the sight of a      
crescent of sand-  dunes1 or a poor1    
solitary1 half-dead shrub2 also our     
passing through a  meagre pasturage of  
dusty had was quite an event1 or the    
discovery in  the distance of a few     
green bushes of siwak1 till we reached  
the  wells1 where we were to rest all   
day long1 to lead the camels to drink1  
and renew our own provision of water1   
which was often brackish and evil-      
smelling4 ,this was the deceptive desert
 of the ,lowlands of the ,chad1 the     
region ,i mentioned above as being lower
 in level than ,lake ,chad itself4      
,after a further march of about #bej    

miles we entered the country of  rocks2 
at first scarcely visible above the     
sands1 they soon rose in  sharp peaks   
that looked like medival ruins1 and then
 shot up into long  steep cliffs        
bordering rugged plateaux1 that formed  
ledges one above the  other to the foot 
of the mountains3 this was the region of
 ,borkou1  ,tibesti1 and ,ennedi1 the   
very heart of the desert1 situated at   
almost  the same distance from the      
shores of ,lake ,chad1 the ,nile1 and   
the  ,mediterranean4 ,this rocky belt   
forms1 from the ,tripolitain to ,dar    
,four1  a long broken wall1 encircling  
on the north-east the basin of the      
,chad1  which it divides from the dismal
 and unexplored waste of the ,lybian    
,desert4 ,tibesti and ,ennedi form the  
highest and almost inaccessible  parts  
of this region1 while another part1     
,borkou1 consists of a wide  depression 
between the basins of the ,chad and of  
the ,nile4      #d4 ,the ,oasis of      
,borkou4      ,faya4--,the zawia of     

,faya had been chosen as the military   
and  administrative centre of ,french   
,borkou1 in preference to those of the  
,senoussists 7,ain ,galakka and ,gouro71
 because it offers the least            
unfavourable lines of communication with
 the garrisons of ,gouro1 ,fada1  and   
,ounianga1 and the best position for    
joining ,borkou by wireless  telegraphy 
to the nearest post of the ,chad        
territory1 #cej miles to the  south4    
,the huts of the ,senoussist zawia      
sheltered us from the sun and the       
sand-storms1 but they were in such a    
state of ruin and decay that we  were   
obliged to begin at once and make       
bricks--unbaked1 of course4  ,unluckily1
 for constructing our buildings we were 
obliged to depend on  the work of the   
few black soldiers who were not employed
 in exterior  operations2 so that many  
months elapsed before we could build a  
sufficient number of habitable houses1  
and complete the detached works  of our 
defensive arrangements1 including three 

rows of rope network1  supposed to be   
barbed1 by means of the addition of long
 thorns from the  date-trees4    ,the   
landscape from the summit of the square 
donjon which overtopped the  fort1      
though wanting in charm and beauty1 was 
not without a style of its  own2 the    
post was built in the middle of a broad 
valley1 closed in on  the east1 but     
opening spaciously towards the west2 its
 rugged1 steep1  rocky sides plunging   
into shifting sands and wind-swept      
dunes1 each dune  curved into the form  
of a crescent4    ,at the foot of the   
fort the axis of the valley was         
delineated by fine  rows of date-bearing
 palms1 about #ejj yards wide by #bj1jjj
 long1 broken  at intervals by heaps of 
moving dunes4 ,on either side of the    
palm-grove  there stretched green       
meadows1 which looked as though they    
would afford  fine pasturage for cattle1
 but which in reality were covered with 
sharp1  hard grasses and herbs of no    
nutritive value3 the most characteristic

  and the least bad was akul1 a regular 
little bush of sharp thorns1  which the 
camels would eat1 but not without making
 a funny grimace at  every mouthful4    
,all along the valley there lies a sheet
 of subterranean water1 which  rises in 
some places so near to the surface that 
the gazelles and  jackals easily slake  
their thirst by scraping away with their
 feet a few  inches of the soil2 here   
and there1 indeed1 a little stream of   
water  flows out of the sand1 and runs a
 few yards towards a neighbouring       
depression1 and little pools are formed 
in natural or artificial hollows  made  
in the soil4    ,these jackals and      
gazelles are the only wild animals found
 in ,borkou2  the latter are quite      
unapproachable by hunters1 while the    
former remain  hidden in the daytime1   
but come in bands at night1 yelping     
round the  villages1 and penetrate      
boldly into inhabited enclosures to seek
 their  prey4 ,so cunning are they that 
they avoid the most ingenious traps the 

natives can set4 ,the lion1 the panther1
 the hyena1 and the wild boar  never    
pass beyond the desert boundaries of    
,kanem and ,wada2 even the  antelope and
 the ostrich1 though bearing thirst so  
well1 cannot venture  so far into the   
,sahara4    ,the winged domestic tribe  
is seen among the villages in the shape 
of  rare squads of lean fowls2 and      
flights of turtledoves and pigeons roost
  in the palm trees4 ,a graceful species
 of sparrow1 with black plumage and     
white tails1 fly in and out of the      
rocks1 and even come into our           
clayhouses2 they sing like nightingales 
when building their nests1 and  chirp   
like sparrows while they watch their    
young beginning to fly4 ,all  round the 
inhabited houses the black crows may be 
heard croaking3 they  are extremely     
audacious1 whether attempting to snatch 
pieces of meat  roasting before a       
kitchen fire1 or settling on the back of
 a wounded  camel and tearing off with  
their beaks morsels of bleeding flesh4  

,snakes are fairly common1 the largest  
being hardly more than a yard in  length
 and one or two inches thick2 the most  
dangerous is the short  bulky viper that
 lies hidden in clumps of grass1 and    
whose bite is fatal  even to camels4    
,scorpions abound1 generally of a       
greenish hue1 sometimes  black2 their   
sting is very painful1 and may be       
eventually mortal to  women and         
children4    ,amidst the rocks one may  
find a curious eatable lizard1 the      
8dundou02 it  is inoffensive1 but when  
it does bite1 it bites so fiercely that 
the  only way of making it let go is to 
pinch its tail sharply1 either with     
pincers or with one's teeth4    ,there  
are very few domestic animals save the  
ass and the goat2 but small  herds of   
oxen manage to cross the desert from    
,november to ,february1 when  cool days1
 pools remaining from the rainy season1 
and the scanty  pasturages of grasses   
produced here and there by the few      
summer showers  allow them to pursue    

their march by short stages4    ,where  
the animal kingdom exhibits its greatest
 vitality1 however1 is in  the insect   
world3 the common fly1 dirty and        
worrying1 rules despotically  by day1   
together with gad-flies and big stinging
 flies of a pretty  greenish hue4 ,at   
nightfall1 the very time when one might 
enjoy a little  rest on the terrace of  
the houses1 moths1 coleopters1 locusts1 
dragonflies1 and bugs become very       
lively1 and whirl madly round the  table
 where a light is shining1 so that it is
 far preferable to dine  lighted only by
 the moon and the stars4 ,when there is 
no wind at night  there are swarms of   
mosquitoes1 and also of a kind of little
 sand-fly  that pass between the meshes 
of the best mosquito-nets4              
,illustration3 ,,sandstone ,,rocks      
,,near ,,orori1 ,,borkou                
,illustration3 ,,rock ,,drawings1       
,,oasis ,,of ,,yarda1 ,,borkou          
,illustration3 ,,sandstone ,,rocks      
,,attacked ,,by ,,moving ,,dunes1       

,,oasis ,,of ,,yarda1  ,,borkou         
,cultivation4--,the soil indeed is not  
very fertile1 which is the reverse  of  
the account given of most oases in the  
north of the ,sahara4 ,it is  especially
 favourable to the cultivation of the   
date-bearing palm1 which  loves to have 
its foot in the water and its summit in 
the burning sun1  but does not stand    
rain well4 ,the first dates ripen in the
 month of ,may1  while the latest are   
gathered in ,september2 they vary in    
size1 and are  dark or light in colour  
according to their variety1 but nearly  
all are  of a very good quality1 as     
sweet and fleshy as one could wish4 ,the
  greater part of the crop is put to    
dry1 while the most luscious are        
gathered into heaps and pressed into    
goatskins1 to be carried to ,wadai  and 
,kanem and other places farther off4    
,after the date-gathering the natives   
prepare their gardens for the  sowing of
 corn1 which takes place in ,november   
and ,december4 ,the ground  is arranged 

in small squares1 ingeniously adapted   
for irrigation2 but  the produce is     
meagre owing to the want of manure2 this
 is remedied1 to  a certain extent1 by  
an addition of virgin soil1 containing  
more or less  soda1 which is fetched    
from some distance on donkey-back4 ,the 
gardens  are intersected with long      
parallel hedges1 which shelter the ears 
from  the withering violence of the     
north-east wind4 ,the harvest is        
gathered  in towards the end of ,march1 
and a short time later the ground is    
prepared for the sowing of millet1 which
 yields a still smaller crop  than the  
corn4 ,when we add that in some gardens 
there grow a few onions  and tomatoes1  
as well as a kind of spinach1 scarcely  
appreciated  anywhere but in ,borkou1 we
 shall have enumerated nearly all the   
available food-stuffs of the oases4     
,i must not forget to mention that the  
,senoussists had succeeded in  importing
 to ,gouro and ,faya some fig-trees and 
a few vines2 and on our  side we managed

 to acclimatize the sweet potato1 a     
precious resource  which came from      
,kanem4 ,we were less fortunate in our  
repeated attempts  to acclimatize       
,french vegetables1 which succeed so    
well in the  neighbourhood of ,lake     
,chad during the cool season2 the       
poverty of the  soil1 the want of       
manure1 the extreme dryness of the      
north-east wind1  the voracity of the   
grasshoppers and other destructive      
insects1 were no  doubt the causes of   
our lamentable failure as               
agriculturists4    ,winds and           
,rain4--,in the heart of the ,sahara1   
where rain is so rare a  meteorological 
phenomenon1 the wind is the high arbiter
 of each day's  weather4 ,the weather is
 fine when the wind is light1 and bad   
when it is  strong2 in the latter case  
nothing is to be seen but whirling      
columns of  sand1 raised by the         
north-east wind1 blowing in stormy gusts
 and  covering the whole landscape with 
a thick dry mist of brownish dust that  

penetrates everywhere and is very       
painful to the eyes1 so that one does   
well on such occasions to wear          
motor-goggles to avoid ophthalmia4      
,these  north-east winds blow more or   
less violently for a great part of the  
year1 sometimes for a few hours only    
each morning1 sometimes for whole  days 
and nights4 ,i may say that we were able
 to note a fair correlation  between the
 oscillations of the curves of the      
registering barometer and  thermometer  
and the force and duration of these     
winds2 they usually  coincide with low  
temperatures and high atmospheric       
pressure1 while the  light winds or the 
dead calm accompany low pressure and    
high  temperatures4 ,taking as a basis  
the information furnished by the        
natives1 borne out by our four years of 
regular observations1 it may be  said   
that1 as a general rule1 the north-east 
wind reigns supreme over  ,borkou and   
the neighbouring districts from ,october
 to ,may or ,june 7that  is to say1 from

 about the autumnal equinox to the      
summer solstice72  whereas in ,july1    
,august1 and ,september still weather   
prevails1  alternating with gentle      
west-south-westerly winds4    ,it is    
these latter winds that bring with them 
from the ,atlantic what  little moisture
 nature measures out each year so       
parsimoniously to these  dried-up lands4
 ,then the sky clouds over almost every 
afternoon1 but  one's hope of refreshing
 showers is vain2 the heat thrown up    
from the  scorched ground1 and the      
rapidly rising temperature through which
 the  raindrops fall towards the earth  
7a rise of about #c ,fahr4 per #ajjj    
feet71 are enough to bring about their  
more or less complete evaporation       
before they reach the ground1 and one   
sees long frayed streaks of grey  cloud 
trailing almost along the ground1 like  
unravelled skeins of wool1  from which a
 few rare drops fall on the thirsty     
earth4 ,when we took  possession of     
,borkou the inhabitants assured us with 

one voice that it  had not rained in    
their country for eleven years1 thus    
putting back the  date of the last rain 
to the year #aijb2 by a curious chance  
our entry  into ,faya 7on #a ,december  
#aiac7 was greeted by a little shower of
 utterly  unlooked-for rain4 ,the       
inhabitants saw in this downfall        
7unusual not  only for that region1 but 
for that season of the year7 a happy    
omen for  the rainy season of #aiad1 an 
omen which was realized1 for in the     
month  of ,august #aiad we had the      
satisfaction of registering about #ij   
mm4 of  rain at ,faya4 ,in #aiae the    
rainfall was hardly worth mentioning1   
and in  #aiaf about #ce mm4    ,though  
,borkou is more than #cjj miles south of
 the ,tropic of ,cancer1 and  very      
low-lying 7#fej feet above sea-level71  
the heat is really excessive  only for  
six or seven months of the year1 from   
mid-,march to mid-,october4  ,during our
 observations1 extending over three     
years1 the maxima  registered in the hot

 season never exceeded #aag ,fahr41 but 
temperatures  of #aaj to #aae were      
frequent4 ,during the cool season1 from 
,december to  ,february1 the minima     
sometimes fall below #ej ,fahr4 without 
ever getting  down to freezing-point4   
,the dryness of the air is very         
noticeable from  ,november to ,june1    
when a difference of more than two to   
one may  regularly be observed between  
the simultaneous indications of the dry 
and wet thermometers3 for instance1 when
 the former stands at #dd ,c4 the       
second often reads less than #bj4 ,on   
the other hand1 in ,august and          
,september1 under the influence of the  
winds blowing from the ,atlantic        
,ocean1 the air becomes very damp and   
the heat grows stifling4    ,in spite of
 its excessive heat1 the climate of     
,borkou is comparatively  healthy2 very 
relaxing during the hot and damp season1
 it is extremely  pleasant in the months
 corresponding to our autumn and winter4
 ,during my  stay1 lasting from #aiac to

 #aiag1 none of my ,european            
fellow-workers had  any serious illness1
 and my black troops1 though kept hard  
at work in  the shape of arduous        
reconnoitring and escort duty1 and with 
barely  enough to eat1 showed a         
percentage of sickness and deaths below 
the  average of the other garrisons     
throughout the ,chad ,territory4        
,population and ,commerce4--,the        
population of ,borkou consists of       
nomads1  the ,tedas and the             
,nakazzas--the great nobles of the      
desert--and of a  sedentary tribe1 the  
,dozzas1 who are only half noble1 for   
want of the  few camels whose possession
 would enable them to take a share in   
the  profitable plundering raids in the 
desert4 ,there is also a third  category
 of inhabitants1 the ,kamajas1 half     
serfs1 half slaves1 whose  duty it is to
 attend to the gardens and the          
plantations of palms1 and  who are      
profoundly despised by the other two    
categories4 ,the total  population of   

,borkou would not appear to exceed some 
ten thousand souls1  distributed among a
 score of more or less flourishing palm 
plantations4    ,the commercial activity
 of the oases of ,borkou is far from    
negligible2  they export towards the    
south salt1 soda1 and dates1 and receive
 in  exchange cereals1 butter1 cattle1  
and smoke-dried meat4 ,caravans of two  
hundred camels may often be seen coming 
to load up with salt at the  ,arouelli  
salt-pits near ,ounianga2 and ,arab     
caravans pass by on the way  from       
,cyrenaica1 by ,koufra and ,sarra wells1
 importing to ,wadai stuffs1  sugar1    
coffee1 tea1 mercery1 and 7in time past7
 arms and ammunition2 and  exporting    
principally millet1 butter1 smoked meat1
 hides raw or tanned1  ostrich feathers1
 elephants' tusks1 and so forth4 ,the   
slave-trade1  formerly carried on       
through ,borkou between ,wadai and      
,cyrenaica on a  great scale1 has almost
 entirely ceased since we took          
possession of the  country4      #e4    

,exploration of the ,western ,borders of
 the ,libyan ,desert3 ,ounianga-  ,erdi 
,after drawing up the map of the western
 part of ,borkou1 subsequent to my      
reconnaissance in ,march and ,april of  
the various oases that succeed one      
another between ,faya and ,ain ,galakka 
on the south and ,gouro on the  north1  
,i devoted the last quarter of #aiad to 
an exploration of the  unknown regions  
situated further east4 ,over and above  
their geographical  interest1 the said  
regions were of great military          
importance4 ,my object  was1 in fact1 to
 ascertain whether a counter-attack by  
the ,senoussists1  starting from ,koufra
 and crossing the ,libyan desert1 could 
easily hope  to escape the vigilance of 
our camel-corps patrols and fall on the 
remoter borders of ,borkou and ,ennedi4 
,from ,faya to ,ounianga4--,with this   
intention ,i left the oasis of ,faya on 
#a ,october #aiad1 at the head of a     
small escort1 taking with me only some  
thirty lean camels tired and mangy1 only

 capable of short stages and of         
carrying light loads4 ,the result was   
that ,i spent nine days in covering  the
 #aag miles between ,faya and ,ounianga1
 a journey that offers no  difficulties 
and is usually completed in five or six 
stages4 ,the points  at which water may 
be found are frequent--at least one     
every #bj miles--and  permanent2 but    
grazing-grounds were almost non-existent
 at that time in  consequence of the    
eleven years' drought the country had   
just suffered  from4 ,the rain that had 
fallen in ,august had1 it is true1 made 
a few  green blades spring here and     
there1 and they were eagerly snapped up 
by  our camels as they passed2 but they 
were still so scattered among the       
broken rocks that they rather emphasized
 than diminished the desolate           
barrenness of these dreary solitudes4   
,from place to place1 round a           
water-hole1 one found a few wretched    
acacias1 bushes of rtem or tufts  of    
akrech4 ,by chance one would come across

 what had once been a field  of dried-up
 hd whose thorny branches were grey with
 dust2 but in a  general way the        
landscape was disappointingly bare1 and 
,i wondered  anxiously how long my      
camels would hold out on this starvation
 diet4    ,the route passed alternately 
through hamadas of sandstone1 the       
blackened  rocks of which emerged from  
irregular dunes1 and through sandy      
plains  into which one sank1 raising    
thick clouds of dust finer than ashes4  
,we  did not meet a living soul on the  
way1 except a detachment going back to  
,faya1 and a little caravan consisting  
of two delegates of the ,grand          
,senoussi coming from ,cyrenaica on     
their way to ,fort ,lamy as an embassy  
to the commander of the territory4 ,i   
spent an afternoon with them near  the  
wells of ,eddeki1 and so had the        
pleasure of offering them tea4 ,the     
chief delegate1 ,si ,mahmoud ,sheikh1   
was a ,khoan of fairly high rank in  the
 ,senoussist confraternity4 ,his        

appearance was that of a good           
,mussulman 8brother0 by no means        
indifferent to the good things of this  
world2 fifty years old1 and of a fine   
corpulence1 he had a fair but  sunburnt 
complexion1 grey hair1 a black beard1 a 
round face1 thin lips1  small eyes1 and 
a sensual nose4 ,he was dressed all in  
white1 walked with  gravity1 and spoke  
little4 ,his attitude1 free from        
arrogance1 was not  without a touch of  
awkwardness1 and his reserve concealed  
but ill his  uneasiness about the fate  
that might await him during his long    
journey  among the infidels4    ,his    
companion1 ,abdallah ,ghariani1 was     
younger and of a very modest rank  among
 the ,khoans4 ,he had a jovial1 bustling
 manner1 and talked volubly1  but his   
eyes were sly and shifty4 ,while we     
drank tea flavoured with  mint1 he      
boasted of the pacific intentions of    
,ahmed ,sherif1 insisted on  the desire 
of the ,confraternity to maintain active
 commercial relations  between          

,cyrenaica and the ,wadai1 and on the   
necessity for suppressing  the ,toubou  
brigandage that hindered the march of   
the caravans4 ,in  conclusion1 he       
declared that he had eaten no meat for a
 long time and  begged me to make him a 
present of a small quantity of          
smoke-dried  meat--a precious commodity 
in the desert1 where the resources of   
hunting  do not exist4    ,illustration3
 ,,natural ,,cistern1 ,,erdi            
,illustration3 ,,the ,,peak ,,of ,,dimi 
7#fjj m471 ,,erdi    ,illustration3     
,,the ,,peaks ,,of ,,dourdouro 7#ajjj4  
m471 ,,erdi    ,ounianga4--,i reached   
the valley of ,ounianga on ,october #i  
in the  morning1 and was not a little   
astonished at failing to see the palm   
plantation till the moment of entering  
it2 for1 unlike those of ,borkou1  which
 can be seen from a distance1 the oasis 
of ,ounianga is hidden in a  rocky      
excavation some #cj yards in depth and  
#d or #e miles long by #a or #b  wide4  
,the landscape thus formed is           

incomparably picturesque3 a great  sheet
 of calm water with blue shadows1 edged 
with rosy-tinted beaches of  sand1 and  
fringed with green palm-trees stretched 
within a circle of  bare wind-carved    
sandstone whose sombre hues cast here   
and there1 under  the blazing sun1 warm 
shadows glowing with red or gold4       
,but it must be recognized that in spite
 of its beauty the palm  plantation of  
,ounianga is but wretchedness1 gloom1   
and disappointment4  ,the inhabitants1  
known as ,ounias1 are few--some hundreds
 at most4 ,on the  other hand1 millions 
of flies fiercely exercise their buzzing
 activity  for fourteen hours a day on  
man and beast4 ,the soil is unfruitful1 
and  produces hardly anything but dates4
 ,the foodstuffs necessary to           
life--cereals1 butter1 smoke-dried      
meat--are brought at great cost by      
caravans coming from ,abch to seek the  
supplies of salt from ,arouelli  needed 
by the inhabitants of ,wadai4 ,even the 
camels cannot live in the  neighbourhood

 for want of enough pasture1 and from   
this cause our little  garrison had the 
utmost difficulty not only in getting   
supplies1 but in  fulfilling the mission
 of watching the approaches of the      
frontier1 and  especially the great road
 from ,koufra that emerges from the     
,libyan  desert in the region of ,tekro 
,arouelli4    ,it occupied at the north 
end of the lake a little rectangular    
fort1  solidly built1 but surrounded at 
a short distance by rocks that blocked  
the view and overlooked it to the north 
and east4 ,it had not been  possible to 
find a more favourable site1 offering at
 the same time  extensive views and an  
easily accessible water-supply4    ,i   
devoted two days to different tasks     
7inspections of the garrison1           
interviews with the ,ounia chiefs and   
with two ,khoans1 former governors  of  
the country in the time of the          
,senoussist domination1 and so forth71  
and set out again on ,october #aa to    
visit the last water-points before      

entering the ,libyan desert4    ,the    
,libyan desert is still almost          
completely unknown1 no ,european        
traveller having been able as yet to    
cross it from side to side1 whether     
from north to south or from east to     
west4 ,in #ahgj ,gerhardt ,rohlfs       
visited the northern part1 as far as the
 oases of ,koufra2 a quarter of a       
century later ,british officers         
penetrated the south-eastern region as  
far as ,bir ,natrun1 about #bjj miles   
west of the ,nile4 ,on our part1 we     
have been able to explore the           
south-western district and to obtain in 
respect of the central part fresh       
information1 which it will not be easy  
to verify and extend until the ,french1 
,british1 and ,italian governments      
combine in organizing for that purpose a
 geographical expedition1 which  would  
be of considerable scientific and even  
political interest4    ,i first took the
 direction of the salt-pits of          
,arouelli1 situated #bh  miles to the   

northwards1 where ,i met a caravan that 
had just loaded up  with #cj tons of    
salt for the ,wadai markets4 ,the       
salt-bed lies at the  bottom of an      
absolutely bare sandy depression1       
covering some #be acres4  ,the bed of   
salt1 which is only about #f or #h      
inches thick1 is on the  surface1 and   
more or less mixed with sand4 ,the      
water-bearing stratum  lies at a depth  
of #e or #f feet1 and the water is      
naturally very salt4  ,the water1 rising
 to the surface by capillarity1         
evaporates1 forming the  salt crust that
 the caravans carry away in pieces1 and 
which the natives  of the ,wadai and the
 countries bordering on it consume      
without further  preparation4 ,if one   
may trust the information supplied by   
the ,ounias1  the salt crust forms again
 about three months after being taken   
away1 so  that the output of the        
,arouelli pits would amount to nearly   
#ajj1jjj  cubic metres of salt annually1
 an output sufficient to satisfy the    

culinary needs of more than ten million 
people1 and worth on the spot1  as      
prices were before the war1 some fifteen
 million francs4    ,from ,arouelli ,i  
went eastwards to fix the position of   
the well of ,tekro1  where there is also
 a deposit of salt which is not worked1 
the admixture  of sand being too great4 
,the well of ,tekro is particularly     
important1  because it is situated at   
the extremity of the great caravan route
  joining the ,mediterranean to the     
,soudan by the oases of ,koufra and the 
well of ,sarra4 ,the water is abundant  
and fairly fresh1 but the  vegetation is
 reduced to a hundred clumps of siwak   
and a few tufts of  grass of no value   
for the feeding of camels4    ,the      
,route towards ,koufra4--,between ,tekro
 and ,koufra the distance to be  covered
 is about #cej miles1 about half of     
which had just been  reconnoitred by    
,lieutenant ,fouch1 commanding the      
garrison of ,ounianga4  ,marching in a  
general direction north-north-east he   

had first crossed a  rocky zone of      
slight elevation1 spending four hours in
 doing so2 then  for two days he        
traversed an immense sandy plain1 bare  
of all  vegetation1 with here and there 
stretches of rock surface level with the
  ground2 broken lines of rocky heights 
were visible in the distance to  east   
and west4 ,these heights went to join   
the plateau of ,jef-,jef1 in the        
direction of which he marched for twelve
 hours during the third day4 ,on  the   
fourth1 he found himself in a vast plain
 from which the ,djebel  ,habid1 #ej    
miles away to the east1 can be seen     
during the first few  hours4 ,the fifth 
day ranges of moving sand-dunes that    
served as  landmarks for the guides were
 observed to the north-west1 and at     
last1  at nightfall on the sixth day1 he
 reached the well of ,sarra1 lying in a 
hollow running from south-west to       
north-east and #cj metres deep4    ,the 
site of the well was chosen by the      
revered ,sidi el ,mahdi about #ahih1    

and the works began almost at once4 ,the
 boring1 all done with picks and        
crowbars1 was effected in hard reddish  
sandstone1 by gangs of six  workmen1    
relieved every month1 and supplied with 
food and water by an  endless succession
 of camel-convoys4 ,at the end of       
eighteen or twenty  months of           
uninterrupted work the water was at     
length found1 clear1  fresh1 and        
abundant1 at a depth of #hj yards1 and  
since then the crossing  of the ,libyan 
desert has become relatively easy1 the  
longest stretch  without water being    
reduced to about #ahj miles1 whereas it 
was formerly  almost #cjj4 ,from the    
well of ,sarra to ,koufra the distance  
to be covered  is only about #afj miles 
and offers no further difficulties1     
thanks to  the intermediate well of     
,bechra4    ,what makes the journey from
 ,ounianga to ,koufra particularly      
troublesome  is the total absence of    
pasturage for #ejj miles1 a state of    
things that  results in the loss of many

 camels on every journey4 ,the only good
  pasturage in the whole region is said 
to be found #hj or #ajj miles to the    
east of the ,sarra well1 in the ,djebel 
,el ,aouinat1 an unexplored mountain    
mass of an extent not exceeding #aejj to
 #bjjj square miles1 as ,i am  informed1
 and whose altitude may be roughly put  
at from #djjj to #ejjj  feet4 ,it goes  
without saying that ,i only give these  
figures as a mere  indication1 and as   
subject to caution in every respect4    
,the break in continuity between the    
surveys of ,rohlfs from the             
,mediterranean to ,koufra and ours from 
the ,wadai to the well of ,sarra is     
consequently reduced to about #ahj      
miles2 but this gap does not seem       
likely to be bridged before ,italy      
proceeds to an effective occupation of  
the oasis of ,koufra1 which falls within
 her sphere of influence4    ,having    
ascertained the site1 depth1 and value  
of the ,sarra wells1  ,lieutenant       
,fouch1 in accordance with his          

instructions1 set himself to  march back
 to ,ounianga1 but the return journey   
was particularly  dramatic4 ,for from   
the very first day his guide led him    
directly south1  instead of marching    
south-south-west4 ,one is justified in  
supposing that  he meant to lead astray 
in the desert the detachment whose      
camels were  so exhausted that everybody
 went on foot1 and whose store of water 
was  limited to a little less than a    
gallon a day per man4 ,astonished at    
this  unaccustomed deviation1 the       
lieutenant drew the guide's attention to
 it1  but the latter answered3 8,do not 
be uneasy1 we are on the right road40   
,but when he judged that the column was 
far enough from the tracks left  by the 
outward journey1 he replied to a fresh  
observation made by the  lieutenant3    
8,you are probably right1 for ,i no     
longer see my usual  landmarks2 but if  
you would lend me a camel and a skin of 
water1 ,i would  go and find our tracks 
of the other day1 and as soon as ,i had 

found them  ,i would come back to look  
for you40 ,the lieutenant thought it    
wiser to  turn guide himself1 and1      
compass in hand1 he put himself at the  
head of  the caravan1 with what anxiety 
may be guessed6 ,an error of direction  
of  a few degrees--quite a usual thing  
in marching by the compass with no      
natural landmarks--might work out at a  
matter of #ae miles in a distance  of   
#ahj1 that being the distance to ,tekro4
 ,and the well had to be found1  in the 
immensity of the desert1 before the     
detachment's scanty water-  supply gave 
out6 ,the black soldiers' thirst was    
aggravated by the  crushing heat2       
reduced to a daily ration of a little   
less than #d quarts  of water1 they no  
longer ate any solid food4 ,the camels1 
grown weak1  slackened their pace4 ,the 
men1 uneasy at not coming across their  
traces  of the outward journey1 thought 
themselves hopelessly lost4 ,their feet1
  swollen with weariness and made       
painful by the burning sands1 seemed    

incapable of carrying them to the end of
 that interminable plain1 torrid  and   
unchanging1 where the air vibrated as it
 vibrates above an  overheated stove1   
creating all along the route deceptive  
mirages1  ceaselessly dissolving and    
reappearing4 ,after a while some of them
 lost  heart and wanted to stop1        
preferring to wait for death where they 
were  rather than go on with an aimless 
march4 ,the lieutenant tried to cheer   
them up by singing the praises of his   
compass1 and promising them that  on the
 morning of the seventh day the three   
familiar rocks near the well  of ,tekro 
should appear before them on the        
horizon4 ,incredulous1 but  respectful1 
they betook themselves again to their   
journey1 advancing  automatically behind
 the camels as exhausted as themselves1 
and by some  miracle1 on the promised   
day and at the promised hour1 they saw  
faintly  outlined against the far       
horizon the rocks of their salvation6 ,a
 few  hours later1 bivouacked round the 

well of ,tekro1 the brave fellows who   
had just covered #cej miles on foot in  
fourteen days in conditions of the      
utmost hardship1 had forgotten their    
weariness and were contemplating  with  
respect1 on the lieutenant's table1 the 
8good little iron0 that had  saved them 
from the most horrible death4    ,as for
 the guide1 he was left unmolested1 his 
criminal intention not  being           
susceptible of absolute proof4 ,it was  
the wisest course to take1  for by      
punishing him without proofs1 all we    
should have gained would  have been to  
terrify men whom we might need later on6
 ,in the desert1 the  best guides may   
have their weak moments6    ,from ,tekro
 to ,ounianga4--,from ,tekro ,i came    
back to ,ounianga1 and  continuing      
eastwards by the lakes of ,little       
,ounianga and ,n',tegdey ,i  reached the
 salt-pits of ,dimi1 after crossing a   
chain of little sand-  dunes about #ej  
feet high1 stretching from north-east to
 south-west1 and  extending from #e to  

#f miles in breadth4 ,this salt-pit lies
 in a sort of  huge circle of rock1 in  
the middle of which rises an isolated   
conical  peak #ejj or #fjj feet high4   
,it seems to me more extensive than that
 of  ,arouelli1 but the salt from it    
does not seem to be so much in demand1  
on  account of the very large proportion
 of sand it contains4 ,the result is    
that it is hardly used by any one except
 the natives of ,ennedi1 who have  only 
three days' journey to go in order to   
get a supply of it4 ,the  grazing1      
though by no means abundant1 was less   
scanty than in the  regions ,i had just 
come through1 and my skeleton-like      
camels could eat  their fill1 for the   
first time in a whole month4    ,from   
the top of the rocks of ,dimi my ,ounia 
guide1 ,sougou1 pointed out to  me in   
the east the almost horizontal lines of 
cliffs forming the most  westerly point 
of the mysterious plateaux of ,erdi4    
,the word 8,erdi0 means  in the language
 of the ,toubous 8expedition1 razzia10  

and would appear to  have been applied  
to that region from time immemorial     
because it served  as a meeting-place   
for the bands of raiders who put the    
caravans to  ransom and pushed their    
raids as far as northern ,dar ,four and 
,kordofan1  and sometimes even to the   
valley of the ,nile in its middle       
reaches4  ,according to the guide1 rocky
 tablelands were to be found there1 of  
an  altitude comparable with that of    
,ennedi2 the rains were less rare than  
in ,borkou1 the grazing-grounds for     
camels abundant1 and the points where   
water could be found were hidden away in
 gorges difficult of access1  little    
known1 and hard to find the way to4 ,for
 his own part1 he hardly  knew any      
except those of ,erdi-,dji and          
,erdi-,ma1 separated by a distance  of  
#gj or #hj miles4    ,i hesitated some  
time before continuing my journey       
towards this region1  whose very name   
was unknown till now2 my water-barrels  
only gave me a  reserve of some thirty  

gallons1 and my men's skin bottles were 
so  corroded by the salts of sodium they
 had transported that they were  empty  
after twenty-four or thirty-six hours'  
march4 ,my camels1 thin1  worn out1 and 
more and more mangy1 could not do more  
than #bj miles a  day1 and ,i only had  
at my disposal ten days' supplies for my
 detachment1  so that any error on my   
guide's part might put me into a        
critical  position4    ,erdi4--,in spite
 of everything ,i resolved to make the  
attempt1 trusting  in fortune to ensure 
its success4 ,in two marches we         
succeeded in  reaching the foot of the  
cliffs of ,erdi-,dji1 #gej feet high and
 about  #bjjj feet above the sea4 ,we   
found there good grazing for the camels1
 and  from that day onward we had       
abundant fodder at each successive      
stage1 so  that ,i was delivered from   
the dread of seeing my indispensable    
beasts of  burden waste away from       
inanition4 ,the water was no less       
abundant1 and  was found in natural     

cisterns hollowed out by waterfalls in  
the beds of  dried-up torrents that came
 down from the plateau4 ,some of these  
cisterns contained nothing but sand2 but
 it was enough to bore a hole #a  or #b 
feet deep in the sand to obtain a       
sufficient store of water4    ,from the 
top of the cliffs all that could be seen
 was an immense  plateau1 slightly      
undulating1 and rising gradually towards
 the north-  east4 ,beyond the line of  
the horizon some dozen miles away1 there
 rose1  as our guide told me1 other     
cliffs2 but all ,i could do was to take 
note  of that information without being 
able to verify it4    ,continuing our   
route eastwards along the foot of the   
cliffs1 we reached  five days later the 
region of ,erdi-,ma1 decidedly higher   
than that of  ,erdi-,dji3 the highest   
altitude ,i had the opportunity of      
measuring  exceeded #cjjj feet4 ,our    
bivouac was installed at the entrance of
 the  gorges of ,dourdouro1 where very  
picturesque natural cisterns are to be  

found containing abundant quantities of 
water withdrawn by the positions  of the
 enclosing rocks from the drying action 
of sun and wind4 ,during  the whole of  
the way thither we did not see a living 
soul1 any more than  in the             
neighbourhood of ,dourdouro4    ,my     
guide never having gone beyond that     
point1 it was impossible to push  my    
investigations further4 ,besides1 ,i had
 now only four days' supplies  left1 a  
fact which obliged me to change my      
direction and make for ,wad  ,mourdi1 on
 the northern border of ,ennedi1 where  
,i was to receive fresh  supplies4 ,i   
had eventually to be satisfied with     
determining the position  of this point 
and measuring a few heights while we    
were renewing our  store of water before
 starting again after a day's rest4     
,this expedition1 though limited to the 
south-western border of the  massif of  
,erdi1 revealed some interesting facts  
about the configuration  of the country 
towards the #ahth degree of latitude    

north and the #bcrd  degree of longitude
 east of ,greenwich2 the altitudes      
increased from west  to east1 and it    
seemed likely that the massif of ,erdi  
was connected in  one direction with the
 mountains of ,tibesti by the plateau of
 ,jef-,jef1  and in another with the    
still unknown massif of ,el ,aouinat1   
situated  approximately between the     
#bbnd and #bcrd degrees of latitude     
north and  the #bdth and #beth degrees  
of longitude east4    ,later information
 gave me a few further indications about
 western ,erdi1  where two water-points 
were found2 one ,bini-,erdi1 about #hj  
miles north-  east of ,dourdouro1 and   
the other1 ,erdi-,fouchini1 some #fj    
miles north of  ,dourdouro1 at the foot 
of a line of tall cliffs4 ,the deduction
 may be  allowed1 for the time being1   
that the central tableland of ,erdi     
offers  altitudes presumably superior to
 #djjj feet1 and that it slopes gently  
down on the east to the great sandy     
plain1 without vegetation or water1     

across which passes the route from ,el  
,aouinat to ,merga1 a route that        
establishes direct but very difficult   
communication between ,koufra and  ,dar 
,four1 to the east of the #bdth degree  
of longitude4    ,between ,erdi and     
,ennedi4--,in leaving ,dourdouro to     
march southwards ,i  was going into the 
unknown4 ,i could1 no doubt1 see in     
front of me1 #dj  miles away1 the crests
 of northern ,ennedi1 at the foot of    
which ,i was to  find the water-points  
of ,aga and ,diona2 but to seek the said
 points  without guide in the chaos of  
rocks was a risky undertaking1 and might
  have been held unreasonable if the way
 our supplies were running short  had   
not obliged me to go forward4    ,a vast
 depression1 stretching from            
south-south-west to north-north-east    
and of an average breadth of some #cj   
miles1 separated ,erdi from ,ennedi2  it
 was the depression ,i heard spoken of  
earlier as a prolongation of  that of   
the ,bahr ,el ,ghazal1 through which    

,lake ,chad once poured its  waters into
 the lakes of ,toro and ,djourab1 and   
consequently that by  which the basins  
of the ,chad and the ,nile might in     
ancient times have  entered into        
communication4 ,that being so1 ,i took  
the utmost care in  examining the region
 and determining the altitudes4 ,the    
lowest point was  found about #cj       
kilometres from ,dourdouro4 ,its        
altitude was #agej feet1 or  #ajjj feet 
higher than that of ,bokalia at the     
north-eastern extremity of  the         
,djourab4 ,the slope was therefore from 
north-east to south-west1 as  was       
confirmed by the shape of the ground and
 the general direction of  the valleys  
running into that depression1 and ,i was
 able to conclude  that if an ancient   
river once flowed in the bottom of that 
broad valley1  which is hardly likely1  
it ran1 not towards the ,nile1 but      
towards the  lowlands of the ,chad4 ,by 
this evidence1 one of the most important
 items  of my geographical programme was

 fully elucidated3 the basin of ,lake   
,chad constitutes in the centre of      
,africa a closed basin which has never  
been connected with the basin of the    
,nile4 ,the lake zone1 now dried up1    
consisting of ,kanem1 the lowlands of   
,lake ,chad1 and ,borkou1 was once the  
outlet for the affluents of ,lake ,chad 
and for many great rivers coming  down  
from the mountain mass of ,ennedi1      
,erdi1 and ,tibesti4 ,its outline at    
successive periods--an outline in all   
probability very irregular--might be    
indicated by the hypsometric curves     
#bgj--bfj--bej metres1 adopting for the 
,lake ,chad of to-day the altitude of   
#bdj metres4 ,its extent at that  period
 must have been comparable with that of 
the ,caspian ,sea at the  present day1  
and its greatest depth some hundred     
metres4    ,in the evening of the second
 day's march1 when we were drawing near 
the  foothills of ,ennedi1 we had not   
yet found any well1 and our tiny store  
of water was used up4 ,but spying in the

 west a notable gap in the line  of     
hills1 ,i thought we should be likely to
 find a water-point there1 and  profited
 by the coolness of the night to try to 
reach it4 ,at dawn we  came out on a    
fine river1 dried up1 where we got a    
little water by  digging holes in the   
sand4 ,by good luck our guide1 ,sougou1 
recognized  that we had reached ,oued   
,mourdi1 where he had come by another   
route some  six months earlier2 thanks  
to which discovery1 after a little      
search we  were able to bivouac beside  
the well of ,diona4    ,if ,i had had   
time and means1 it would have been      
extremely interesting to  explore up to 
its starting-point the great depression 
,i had just  crossed1 a depression which
 perhaps comes down from the region of  
,merga  in the heart of the ,libyan     
,desert1 where the natives agree in     
declaring  that there exists a little   
lake surrounded by a palm plantation4   
,the  probable position of ,merga is    
between the #beth and #bfth degrees of  

longitude east and #ahth and #aith      
degrees of latitude north4 ,this oasis  
is situated on the direct route from    
,ennedi to ,dongola1 about #bjj miles   
from the last water-point of ,ennedi    
7,gourgouro74    ,illustration3 ,,french
 ,,sudan    ,map to illustrate the      
,,work ,,of ,,the ,,mission ,,tilho in  
,,tibesti1 ,,borku1 ,,erdi  ,,and       
,,ennedi    ,,the ,,geographical        
,,journal1 ,,aug #aibj4    ,modified    
,polyconic 7#a_/,m4 ,international ,map7
 ,projection4    ,published by the      
,royal ,geographical ,society4          
,,tibesti ,tilho      #f4 ,exploration  
of ,ennedi4      ,having reached the    
well of ,diona on #aa ,november #aiad in
 the morning1 ,i  was joined next day by
 the camel-corps section of ,borkou and 
,ennedi1  which brought me fresh        
supplies and were charged with the      
mission of  getting into touch with the 
nomads of eastern and central ,ennedi1  
who  refused to acknowledge our         
authority and committed acts of         

brigandage on  our lines of             
communication4 ,a few patrols in the    
neighbourhood having  made it clear that
 the rebels had decamped before us and  
taken refuge on  the high plateaux1 the 
camel corps under the command of        
,captain  ,chteauvieux climbed the      
heights of ,erdb1 where they began an   
active  pursuit of the rebels4 ,at the  
same time ,i reconnoitred the           
water-point  of ,aga1 #cj miles further 
east on the route from ,erdi to ,dar    
,four1 a  route followed at that period 
by a certain number of ,senoussist      
emissaries on their way to exhort the   
,sultan ,ali-,dinar to join in the      
,holy ,war6 ,for it will be remembered  
that ,turkey had just at that date      
entered into the war against us1 and    
that the plan of the ,german general    
staff included a vast ,musulman rising  
destined to drive the ,french and       
,british out of their ,african          
possessions4    ,eastern                
,ennedi4--,finding no traces of the     

rebels at ,aga1 ,i rejoined the  camel  
corps in their occupation of the        
cisterns of ,keta on the plateau  of    
,erdb1 and until the end of ,november   
our reconnoitring columns  explored the 
labyrinth of gorges and rocky valleys   
over which the  refractory natives had  
scattered1 without offering serious     
resistance  anywhere4 ,the cold was     
beginning to be rather unpleasant1      
especially  when the north-east wind    
blew1 but the thermometer did not fall  
as low  as zero4 ,the water-points were 
extremely numerous1 a fact which        
favoured  the break-up into small       
fractions of the rebel bands1 whose     
chief  anxiety appeared to be the       
getting of their herds of camels and    
oxen and  their flocks of goats into a  
safe place4 ,they did not seem to worry 
much  about their women and children1   
and let us capture them with the        
serenest unconcern1 being well aware    
that we should do them no harm1 and     
that their sustenance would be assured  

for the time being by our black  troops1
 always glad to leave the preparation of
 the daily cousscouss to  the other sex4
 ,to conclude this series of operations 
we had to fix the  limits of eastern    
,ennedi4 ,an expedition was sent to     
,bao1 #fj miles  southwards1 the last   
water-point in the region1 and thence to
 ,kapterko  in the south-east1 where a  
few rebels were captured4 ,another      
expedition  fixed the position of the   
well of ,konamna some #ej miles east1   
and went  a stage further1 to the       
beginning of the great plain without    
water or  vegetation that stretches out 
of sight to the eastward4    ,the       
general physiognomy of the country was  
that of a rocky tableland  intersected  
by a great number of valleys1 more or   
less deep1 and gorges1  separated by    
many little jagged chains of sandstone  
running in all  directions1 and varying 
in height between about #bjj and #ejj   
feet4 ,all  those depressions are       
covered with grass and shrubs1 affording

 excellent  pasturage for the hillman's 
flocks4 ,of plants useful for human food
 we  found gramine such as the ,kreb and
 ,anselik2 what is more1 the soil of    
the valleys was literally covered in    
places with water-melons and            
colocynths4 ,though ,i found no traces  
of tillage anywhere1 ,i even had the    
surprise of noticing from time to time  
hardy stalks of the wild cotton  plant1 
some reaching #f feet in height4        
,almost every year at the end of the    
rainy season temporary rivers flow      
through these depressions1 some of them 
turning northwards 7and  consequently   
tributaries of the ,chad basin71 the    
others southwards1  where they once used
 to feed some great tributary of the    
,nile basin4  ,numerous pools formed    
during the rains hold out for a longer  
or shorter  time in the flats of the    
more considerable of these valleys1     
while in  the narrower parts the water  
is stored in natural reservoirs1 more or
  less hard to get at1 hollowed in the  

sandstone by the falling waters as  each
 torrent makes its way down from one    
ledge to the next4    ,the greatest     
altitude ,i noticed in the course of my 
surveys on the  plateaux of ,erdb was   
found in the water-parting between the  
slope  towards the ,chad and the slope  
towards the ,nile3 it was of #cfjj feet4
  ,the highest summits in the           
neighbourhood rising only from #bej to  
#djj  feet above the general level of   
the country1 it may be estimated that   
the chief altitudes of that region vary 
between #djjj and #dbjj feet4  ,twenty  
miles east of ,konamna1 in the          
transition zone between the  mountains  
and the plains1 the altitudes of the    
bottom of the valley was  still superior
 to #cjjj feet4 ,it is possible1        
moreover1 that #dj miles  away to the   
north-east certain summits of the       
water-parting rise to #ejjj  feet4      
,the natives who live a nomadic life on 
the plateaux of ,erdb amount in  number 
to several hundred families4 ,their     

settlement1 meagre in the  extreme1     
usually consists of a few pieces of     
matting stretched on stakes  in a corner
 of a ravine1 round a thorn enclosure in
 which their flock of  sheep and goats  
is shut up2 at the slightest alarm men  
and beasts  stampede among the rocks4   
,if ,i had to seek in the animal kingdom
 a term  of comparison for these tribes1
 ,i think ,i should choose their fellow-
  denizen the jackal3 they possess its  
cunning1 its audacity1 its  cowardice1  
its mischievousness1 its endurance1 its 
speed1 and its  predatory instincts4    
,the only other wild animals we saw were
 gazelles1 antelopes1 and  ostriches2 it
 is reported that as long as the        
above-mentioned pools  remain1 boars1   
panthers1 and lions may be found1 but we
 had no  opportunity of testing the     
truth of this assertion4    ,on         
,december #i1 in the afternoon1 having  
made preparations for our  departure    
next morning1 we set free our prisoners1
 imposing no  conditions beyond that of 

telling their fellows our desire to see 
peace  and quiet reign throughout the   
country4 8,let the nomads devote        
themselves to the raising of their      
flocks and to trading in salt and       
millet10 ,i said2 8let them give up     
raiding the peaceful tribes of the      
,sudan and the ,nile1 and the caravans  
that cross the desert1 and ,i will      
leave them at liberty in their          
mountains40 ,whereupon an old woman     
answered me1 8,we will carry your words 
faithfully to our husbands and  sons1   
and we will bid them come and submit to 
your authority2 we are all  weary of our
 perpetual insecurity2 we desire peace  
and justice4 ,you have  treated us well1
 you have given us millet and meat2 we  
have eaten all we  wanted to eat1 and   
now we know that you are strong and     
generous4 ,allah  reward you60    ,alas6
 my reward was that for two years longer
 these inveterate brigands  did not     
cease raiding in every direction1 and   
that the camel corps had a  particularly

 difficult task in guarding convoys and 
putting down  pillaging4    ,western    
,ennedi4--,it only remained to me to    
cross the central part of  ,ennedi in   
order to have a clear outline of the    
general physiognomy of  the country1    
thanks to the aid of surveys previously 
executed on its  western borders by     
several officers who had taken part in  
military  operations in ,western ,ennedi
 under the orders of ,major ,hilaire and
 ,major  ,colonna de ,lca4 ,with this   
end in view1 ,i marched in the direction
 of  the military post of ,fada by ,boro
 and ,arche4    ,for a week our route   
lay through a maze of sandstone rocks   
where no  track existed1 and through    
which our guides zigzagged from crest to
  crest with remarkable sureness4       
,sometimes we made a long dtour to      
cross a wadi near its source2 sometimes 
we marched straight for the  obstacle1  
dropping down steep ledges that inspired
 little confidence in  our animals1 or  
crossing difficult ridges that the      

camels could only  climb after being    
unloaded4 ,everywhere were narrow gorges
 and jagged  crests1 with here and there
 a few leagues of easy going in the     
neighbourhood of the temporary pools    
that usually marked the convergence  of 
certain important ravines4    ,in this  
uneven ground with its narrow horizons  
one pasture-ground  succeeded another1  
but we saw no trace of inhabitants4 ,and
 yet water was  not wanting1 whether in 
natural cisterns or in great pools like 
that of  ,kossom ,yasko4 ,we skirted on 
the south the tableland of ,basso1      
higher1  according to our guides1 and   
harder to climb than that of ,erdb1 but1
  so far as ,i could judge at a guess1  
its height is not likely to be as  much 
as #ejjj feet4    ,we took a day's rest 
in the excellent pastures of ,boro      
before leaving  the central plateau of  
,ennedi to drop down to the next level1 
#djj or #ejj  feet below4 ,then our way 
lay along a fine river of white sand1   
between  banks #fj or #hj yards high1   

where the traces of the last flow of    
water  could be seen #f or #g feet up   
the bank4 ,the coming of the floods is  
so  sudden1 and the banks so steep and  
smooth1 that it is dangerous to take    
that road in the rainy season4 ,no      
winter passes without some heedless     
wayfarers being surprised and carried   
away by the rushing torrent that  comes 
sweeping down the valley with the speed 
of a galloping horse4    ,after this    
splendid sand-road came a stretch of    
rocky going1 followed by  a zone of     
waterfalls we had to get round by a     
march on the plateau4 ,the  lower we got
 the more picturesque the landscape     
became2 the cliffs1  gaining in height  
what we lost in altitude1 grew more and 
more imposing1  the crests more jagged1 
the ridges more often broken by gaps4   
,isolated  peaks appeared here and      
there1 whose pure outlines and bold     
summits put  climbing out of the        
question4 ,on all sides there rose in   
the distance  rocks1 some broad1 some   

slender1 but all of the same height and 
grouped  irregularly1 so that sometimes1
 when very close together1 they looked  
like groups of men4    ,on the #agth of 
,december we reached the foot of the    
last ledges1 on the  western borders of 
,ennedi1 at the altitude of about #ahjj 
feet--that is to  say1 about that of the
 depression separating ,erdi from the   
plateaux of  ,erdebe--and pitched our   
tents in the valley of ,arche1 the most 
picturesque of the beautiful valleys of 
the ,ennedi4 ,the century-long  erosion 
of wind and water1 carving the great    
sandstone masses that line  the valley1 
lavished throughout the landscape the   
most admirable effects  of natural      
architecture4 ,the approaches of the    
great grotto1 above all1  and of the    
sheet of water teeming with little fish1
 were a pure delight  for the eyes3 the 
sheer cliffs1 fretted into colonnades   
crowned with  turrets and belfries1 were
 burnt to tones of faded ochre that made
 the  blue of the sky seem deeper and   

more luminous still4    ,illustration3  
,,mourdia ,,women ,,and ,,children1     
,,plateau ,,of ,,erd,b 7#ajjj m471      
,,ennedi    ,illustration3 ,,the ,,fort 
,,of ,,fada1 ,,ennedi    ,illustration3 
,,caves ,,of ,,arche1 ,,ennedi    ,from 
this exploration it became apparent that
 ,ennedi is1 roughly  speaking1 a       
triangle covering about #ab1jjj square  
miles 7#cj1jjj square  kilometres74 ,it 
consists of a succession of sandstone   
plateaux rising in  tiers from the base 
level of #afjj feet to that of #dcjj and
 possibly even  #dhjj or #ejjj feet in  
the parts of the country which had to be
 left out  of our investigations 7,basso
 and eastern ,erdb74 ,it falls by steep 
slopes to the plains of the ,libyan     
desert4 ,the plateaux of ,ennedi are    
ravined by many valleys1 most of them   
very deep1 whose waters only flow  for a
 few days or weeks each year after the  
rains 7,august and  ,september74 ,these 
waters hurl themselves from ledge to    
ledge in  waterfalls1 hollowing out at  

the foot of each fall natural cisterns  
in  the rock1 where the water remains a 
longer or shorter time according as  it 
is well or ill sheltered from the       
torrent beds4 ,the roads usually  follow
 the torrent beds1 except when blocked  
by masses of crumbled rock1  in which   
case a more or less awkward circuit has 
to be made4 ,at the  points where the   
main valleys converge great muddy ponds 
are usually  formed1 but they are       
shallow and short-lived4 ,in all the    
valleys  splendid grazing-land is found1
 where not only camels but also         
thousands  of oxen could live if the    
problem of drinking-troughs did not     
present  itself every year in the height
 of the dry season4 ,for at that moment 
the natural cisterns that have still    
kept some store of water are grown  few 
in number1 and are nearly always very   
hard to get at4 ,most of the  great     
temporary pools are dry1 and            
subterranean water is no longer found   
except in the great wadis1 where the    

wells 7that have to be dug out  afresh  
every year7 go as deep as #bj or #be    
yards4    ,the inhabitants of ,ennedi1  
nomads or semi-nomads1 are very poor2   
the  chief tribes are the ,bideyats 7or 
,annas71 the ,gaedas1 and the ,mourdias1
  which all together represent hardly   
more than #bjjj souls4 ,but they are  by
 tradition so addicted to brigandage and
 so untamable that as large a  troop of 
police is needed to keep them in hand as
 for a population of  #dj1jjj in the    
settled regions4    ,ennedi has no      
vegetable food resources2 there are     
neither palm  plantations1 nor native   
gardens1 nor millet fields4 ,and yet the
 soil is  more fertile than in ,borkou  
and the periods of drought shorter4 ,the
  chief agricultural interest of the    
region lies in its excellent pasture1   
where the camels find abundant provender
 of very good quality4    ,in           
,mortcha4--,from ,archei ,i went to the 
post of ,fada1 #dj miles or so to  the  
north-west1 for a few days' rest1 after 

which ,i undertook a new  series of     
reconnaissances westwards1 for the      
purpose of exploring the  still         
imperfectly known desert regions of     
northern ,mortcha1 too often  visited by
 the raids of the refractory tribes4 ,i 
was thus enabled during  the early days 
of ,january #aiae to trace the course of
 the temporary  rivers that receive the 
waters from the western slopes of       
,ennedi4 ,for a  few days every year    
these rivers roll down a volume of water
 sufficient  to stop the march of       
caravans and convoys for a longer or    
shorter time1  and continue their course
 for #bjj or #cjj kilometres before each
 of them  reaches the pool in which it  
ends4 ,as they have not force enough to 
go  further1 all one finds beyond the   
terminal pool is a valley-way more or   
less clearly marked1 and blocked with   
sand from place to place1 but  still    
visible for fairly long distances4 ,it  
has been concluded that they  formerly  
ran into the ancient lake of ,djourab1  

the level of which is  from #bjj to #cjj
 yards lower4 ,the most interesting of  
these rivers from  the geographical     
point of view is the wadi ,soala1 which 
in the central  and lower parts of its  
course separates the granitic zone of   
,mortcha  from the sandstone of ,ennedi4
    ,the whole region is one succession 
of good grazing-grounds for camels1  but
 which can be made use of only a few    
months a year while there is  water in  
the temporary pools4 ,the one that lasts
 longest1 that of  ,ellla1 in which the 
wadi ,oum-,hadjar comes to an end1 is   
not entirely  dry till ,april or ,may   
when the annual rains have been normal1 
in which  case it makes direct          
communication possible between ,borkou  
and ,wada4    ,between ,ennedi and      
,borkou4--,i next set out northwards    
from ,ennedi in  the direction of       
,madadi and ,wadi-,doum1 which had been 
adopted for the  time being as their    
headquarters by some rebel bands from   
,tibesti1 which  attacked indifferently 

the caravans from ,wada going to        
,arouelli for  salt and our unescorted  
convoys of supplies circulating between 
the  posts of ,faya1 ,fada1 and         
,ounianga4 ,at the moment when ,i       
arrived in the  neighbourhood they had  
just carried out successfully several of
 these  surprise attacks1 and were      
making off to their mountains to get    
their  booty into a safe place4 ,unable 
to go after them1 for my camels1        
exhausted by three months' reconnoitring
 and hard fare1 could not  challenge    
those of the rebels for speed1 ,i       
decided to return without  delay to     
,faya to organize reprisals4    ,on the 
way ,i passed through a low-lying zone  
of country once occupied by  lakes and  
marshes of considerable extent and of   
about #ajjj feet in  altitude1 or #bej  
or #cjj feet higher than the region of  
the ancient lakes  of ,borkou and       
,djourab1 with which it is connected by 
a continuous  valley1 the bed of which1 
very clearly visible in places1 is often

  buried in sand4 ,this lake-zone seems 
to be the end of the great  depression  
,i had crossed two months earlier1      
between the massifs of ,erdi  and       
,ennedi4 ,except in the immediate       
neighbourhood of the springs of  ,madadi
 and around the permanent pool of the   
,wadi ,doum 7or ,touhou7 the  soil is   
absolutely barren1 consisting either of 
very pure siliceous sand  or of soft    
friable earth1 whitish in colour and as 
fine as flour1 into  which we sank to   
the ankles at every step1 raising thick 
clouds of  stifling dust4 ,towards the  
south stretched chains of shifting sand-
  dunes1 separating that depression from
 the last foothills of ,ennedi1  while  
to the north extended endless rocky     
terraces1 in which were  hollowed here  
and there basins of #a or #b square     
miles1 wells of water  impregnated with 
soda4    ,the ,holy ,war4--,the         
,turco-,senoussist propaganda against   
the ,french and  ,english was beginning 
to make its pernicious effects felt     

among the  nomads of ,borkou and        
,ennedi4 ,the easy successes achieved by
 the rebels  against caravans and       
convoys unprotected by escorts had just 
given them  a great idea of their       
military power1 and increased their     
numbers and  audacity4 ,the withdrawal  
towards their base of the ,italian      
forces in  ,tripoli1 and particularly   
the abandonment of ,mourzouk1 where a   
,senoussist governor had taken up his   
residence1 had inflamed the minds  of   
the ,toubous1 whose warlike ardour had  
never burnt so fiercely3 it  seemed to  
them likely that a backward movement of 
the ,french occupying  ,tibesti1        
,borkou1 and ,ennedi would speedly take 
place if their  commissariat lines were 
seriously threatened in the direction of
 ,lake  ,chad and ,wada4 ,turkey's      
entrance into the war on the side of    
,germany  against ,france and ,england  
had counterbalanced the successes won   
over  the ,germans in the ,cameroons and
 deeply stirred the imaginations of     

these devout ,mohammedans1 who refused  
to recognize any other chief than  the  
distant ,sultan of ,stamboul1 ,caliph of
 the ,prophet and ,commander of  the    
,faithful4 ,and one after another the   
,duzzas of ,borkou1 the ,gouras of      
,gouro1 the ,arnas of ,tibesti1 and the 
,gadas of ,ennedi fell from their       
allegiance4    ,now1 at that moment the 
requirements of the escort-service for  
our  convoys of supplies were such that 
out of the hundred and sixty men of     
each of my companies in ,borkou and     
,ennedi1 less than twenty rifles were   
sometimes left to guard the posts of    
,faya and ,fada4 ,it was hardly before  
the month of ,april #aiae1 when the     
food-transport was almost finished1     
that it became possible to remedy this  
dispersal of our forces and  organize   
the punitive expeditions rendered       
indispensable by the  incessant raids of
 the rebels4 ,that task was an awkward  
one1 for we were  short of good camels  
and above all of good agents of         

information1 while  our elusive         
adversary was kept acquainted with our  
slightest movement by  certain elements 
of the population theoretically faithful
 to us4    ,it would evidently have been
 too much for us to hope that we should 
speedily obtain the submission of the   
malcontents1 given the very             
considerable extent of their space for  
movements of all kinds1 and also  their 
extreme mobility2 but we could          
henceforth return blow for blow1  chase 
them to their mountain lairs1 and give  
them the impression that1  after playing
 for some time the pleasant part of     
hunters1 they were  henceforth going to 
play the much less pleasant one of game4
    ,one after another ,captains        
,lauzanne and ,chteauvieux1 ,lieutenants
 ,lafage  and ,calinon1 at the head of  
mixed detachments of regular soldiers   
and  ,arab and ,toubou auxiliaries1 made
 their way into the wildest fastnesses  
of ,eastern ,tibesti1 ,borkou1 and      
,ennedi4 ,captain ,lauzanne1 in         

particular1  succeeded in tracking the  
,gourmas into the distant solitudes of  
,ouri1  #bjj miles north of ,gouro1 at  
the foot of the eastern spurs of the    
,tibesti1 and after them their cousins  
the ,koussadas into the very crater  of 
,emi ,koussi1 till then regarded as     
impregnable4 ,the fame of these two     
expeditions was noised abroad in the    
country to such an extent that by  the  
end of the month of ,july the general   
situation of ,borkou had greatly        
improved1 and we could turn our thoughts
 to the consolidation of our  prestige  
by an offensive action against the      
rebels of ,miski1 and by a  junction of 
our troops with those of ,zouar and     
,barda1 the two military  posts         
entrusted with the supervision and      
pacification of western and  central    
,tibesti4      #g4 ,exploration of      
,tibesti4      ,in the month of         
,september #aiaf ,i was authorized to   
proceed from ,borkou  to ,tibesti for   
the purpose of getting in touch with the

 rebel tribes who  intended to attack   
the caravans fitted out in ,kanem and   
,wada for the  carrying of supplies to  
the garrisons of ,borkou and ,ennedi4   
,the garrison  of ,tibesti was to       
attempt1 to the best of its ability1 to 
co-operate  with this action in such a  
way that the hostile bands1 threatened  
at  once on the south1 the west1 and the
 north1 might either be induced to      
submit or else to disperse in the       
eastern part of the ,tibestian massif1  
the part furthest away from the region  
to be traversed by our convoys of       
supplies4    ,the rebels were           
comparatively few in number--about #bjjj
 combatants--and  divided into clans    
living in different regions2 but they   
were of extreme  mobility1 well armed1  
and abundantly supplied with ammunition4
 ,their  tactics1 which were very       
skilful1 consisted in avoiding on all   
occasions  a fight in the open1 in      
hiding in the labyrinth of their        
well-nigh  inaccessible rocks to fire at

 short range on the enemy when he passed
  near enough1 in decamping at top speed
 to hide again a little further  on1 and
 so draw little groups of adversaries in
 the direction of death-  traps1 where  
of course well-planned ambuscades lay in
 wait for them4    ,the strength of the 
reconnoitring detachment was forty-four 
black  soldiers1 officered by four      
,europeans--one of them a doctor--and   
accompanied by some thirty auxiliaries  
7guides1 goumiers1#a camel  drivers1 and
 servants74 ,it carried food for two    
months1 and the barrels  and skins      
required for three days' water4 ,the    
train included about #abj  camels4      
,the mountainous country to be crossed  
set an extremely awkward problem3  many 
points where water would have to be     
found were often hard for the  camels to
 reach4 ,pasture-grounds were rare and  
scanty4 ,the tracks1  inexistent or     
deceptive1 would now stretch away across
 successive heaps  of sharp-edged       
pebbles1 and now twist and turn         

endlessly along winding  torrent beds1  
deep sunk between sheer banks4 ,to cross
 from one valley to  the next one had to
 climb a succession of cliff ledges1    
rising tier on  tier to several hundred 
metres by the merest suggestion of paths
 winding  along the sides of spurs      
formed by the rolling down of dbris from
  above2 when the slopes grew too steep1
 the baggage had to be carried up  from 
one shelf to the next on men's heads4   
,our camels1 used to the easy  going of 
the great sandy plains1 were discouraged
 by the asperities of  the sharp-angled 
rocks1 by the narrow ledges1 the steep  
and slippery  steps1 the loose pebbles1 
the excessively sharp turns2 and so only
 short  distances could be covered in   
spite of long hours under way and       
intense  fatigue4    ,it goes without   
saying that we had no sort of map of    
these unknown  regions1 and that we were
 utterly at the mercy of the guides whom
 by  good or evil fortune the patrols   
put at our disposition4 ,accordingly1   

the choice of our routes was dictated to
 us at once by the necessity of         
reducing to a minimum the efforts and   
privations of our camels and by  that of
 keeping within the limits familiar to  
our ordinary and  occasional guides4 ,it
 may be added that the latter showed the
 utmost  unwillingness to lead us into  
regions where the unsubdued tribes      
habitually take refuge2 for these tribes
 are in the habit of holding  them      
responsible1 on their own heads and     
those of the members of their  families1
 for all the harm and losses incurred   
when fights arise with  our detachments4
    ,the general plan of this series of 
operations included1 first of all1  the 
reconnoitring of ,emi ,koussi1 an       
extinct volcano #cdjj metres high1      
followed by an inroad into the valley of
 ,miski1 the usual meeting-ground  of   
the ,tibestian freebooters threatening  
the roads to ,kanem4 ,the central       
position of the valley is strengthened  
by the natural shelter afforded  by high

 mountains and almost impassable rocky  
foothills1 through which  lead only two 
defiles1 both of them long and          
dangerous4    ,from ,miski ,i meant to  
make a rapid plunge into the valley of  
,yebbi1 in  the heart of central        
,tibesti1 firstly to try to get into    
connection with  a detachment of the    
garrison of ,bardai1 and then to make an
 attempt to  reach the plateaux of      
,goumeur4 ,lastly1 ,i thought ,i might  
be able to get  over on to the western  
slope of the massif1 explore its chief  
valleys1  and effect a junction with the
 ,zouar camel corps before returning to 
,borkou4 ,i succeeded in carrying out   
this programme in its main lines1       
except for the operation in the         
direction of ,goumeur1 which had to be  
replaced at the last minute by a        
reconnaissance pushed as far as the     
post of ,bardai4 ,i was away1 in all1   
for seventy-two days1 or barely a       
fortnight in excess of my estimate4     
,from the ,plains of ,borkou to the     

,foot of ,emi ,koussi4--,the name of    
,borkou is given by geographers to the  
group of low-lying stretches of  country
 separating the mountain mass of        
,tibesti from that of ,ennedi2 it  was  
confined at first to the depression1    
some #aj kilometres wide by #ajj  in    
length1 that extends from east to west1 
from ,faya to ,ain ,galakka4    ,this   
hollow was long filled by a lake1 of    
which numerous and conclusive  traces   
are still found3 beds of lake shells1   
whole skeletons of fishes  up to a yard 
and half long1 calcareous crust covering
 long streaks of  rock1 platforms of    
white clay marking the line of flats    
where the last  pools left by the waters
 of the former lake have held out       
longest before  drying up1 and so forth4
 ,this lake was fed by mighty           
watercourses1  coming down from the     
mountains of ,tibesti and ,ennedi2 it   
poured its  overflow through the valley 
of the ,jurab into the ,kirri1 the      
deepest1  largest1 and most recently    

dried up among the ancient lakes and    
lowlands  of the ,chad4    ,from ,borkou
 to ,emi ,koussi there is a large choice
 of routes4 ,the best1  owing to the    
number of points at which water and     
pasturage may be found1  is that which  
passes by way of ,yarda to ,yono4       
,hereabouts we leave behind  the region 
of the oases characterized by numerous  
depressions in which  water is found    
close to the soil in practically        
unlimited quantities1 in  wells less    
than a yard deep and in salt pools4     
,from that point one  enters the rocky  
zone where there is no more water       
underground1 but only  natural cisterns 
forming reservoirs with the water that  
streams down  into them1 and dries up a 
longer or shorter time after the passage
 of  the accidental rains that filled   
them4    ,the general look of the       
country is fairly uniform4 ,it is a vast
  sandstone plateau sloping from north  
to south1 ravined with narrow  gullies  
running in a general direction from     

north-east to south-west1  and which are
 real rivers of sand in which the       
shifting dunes pile  themselves up and  
overlap to the point of being impassable
 at times to  laden beasts of burden4   
,this direction1 from north-east to     
south-west1  being that of the          
prevailing wind in ,borkou1 the         
parallelism of these  gullies and the   
general appearance of the landscape give
 colour to the  supposition that they   
were hollowed out of the sandstone by   
the erosive  action of the dunes driven 
before the wind4    ,the rocky plateau  
is commanded at intervals by a few      
blackish peaks of  low relief1 among    
which the most noticeable are those of  
,kazzar1 near  ,yarda1 #ge metres above 
the surrounding country2 ,olochi1 near  
,dourkou1  #acj metres2 ,ehi ,kourri1   
near ,kouroudi1 #cej metres in relief4  
,from the  height of these natural      
observatories nothing is to be seen1 in 
whatever  direction one turns1 but vast 
dark-tinted expanses strewn with stones1

  where no sort of topographical order  
can be discerned4 ,so confused and      
scattered are the rocky masses that the 
impression they leave is less  that of a
 sequence of alternating plateaux and   
valleys than of a chaos  of disconnected
 reefs rising above a sea of sand1 amid 
breakers of  billowy dunes4 ,much going 
and coming was needed before ,i could   
form an  exact notion of the physiognomy
 of these regions1 for the fact is that 
their valleys are more or less blocked1 
at longish intervals1 by heaps  of rock 
debris and sand1 and so divided into a  
succession of elongated  hollows        
communicating only by subterranean      
infiltration4 ,in these  hollows may be 
found1 here and there1 layers of shells 
that enable us to  fix the period when  
they were still underwater at a         
comparatively recent  and no doubt      
,quaternary epoch4 ,from place to place 
there still exist  permanent salt pools1
 of greater or less depth1 and usually  
at the foot  of the cliffs that shut in 

some of these valleys on the east4 ,one 
supposes that the strong back draughts  
of the north-east wind have  mainly     
concentrated their action on those      
points of the surface where  the        
sandstone was softest2 in the           
excavations thus produced the sheet of  
subterranean water has been able to make
 its appearance in the open air1  and   
under the influence of a persistent     
evaporation1 due to the extreme  dryness
 of the air and the intensity of the    
solar heat1 the salts in  solution in   
the water have undergone a progressive  
concentration1  sometimes to the point  
of floating on the surface of the pool  
with the  appearance of translucent     
blocks of ice4      ,having left ,faya  
on ,september #d we arrived on the #aath
 at the foot of  ,emi ,koussi1 #abe     
miles to the north1 passing on our way  
by ,korou ,koranga1  where we renewed   
our supply of water4 ,the spot is one of
 the most  picturesque ,i saw during    
this journey to ,tibesti2 it is a       

natural  cistern hollowed by the action 
of the falling waters in the deep and   
narrow bed of the wadi ,elleboe1 a      
torrential river that comes down from   
,emi ,koussi4 ,the way to it lies       
through a defile more than a mile long1 
so narrow that two men cannot walk      
abreast4 ,the water lies at the bottom  
of a grotto1 dark in spite of being open
 to the sky1 and whose walls  wind in   
and out in such a way that not only the 
drying desert winds  cannot get to it1  
but that even the sun's rays only       
penetrate to it for  a few minutes each 
day about noon1 and only get down to the
 level of the  water during ,may and    
,july1 when the sun reaches the local   
zenith4 ,i had  neither the time nor the
 means to measure the length and depth1 
the  approach between precipitous walls 
being so difficult2 but the supply of   
water is such that the cistern has never
 been dry so long as the guides  can    
remember1 however long may have been the
 drought during which the  torrent has  

ceased to flow2 the water stays clear1  
cool1 and pleasant to  the taste1       
without the slightest salty flavour4    
,the cistern of ,derso1 on the contrary1
 at the foot of ,emi ,koussi1 near  the 
pasturage of ,yono1 is broad1 spacious1 
and subject to the drying  action of sun
 and winds2 a score of yards deep1 it is
 easy to get at2  but its greenish      
water1 stagnant and thick with organic  
matter1 has to  be filtered before it   
can be drunk without disgust1 and a     
period of  twelve or fifteen months'    
drought is usually enough to dry it up  
altogether4    ,ascent of ,emi          
,koussi4--,in all probability the rebels
 of the regions we  had just come       
through had withdrawn towards their     
strongholds on the top  of ,emi ,koussi4
 ,a light detachment was sent out to    
make sure that this  was so1 while the  
greater number of our camels were left  
to rest in the  pasturage of ,yono1     
where ,i had a little zeriba built for  
the storage of  our baggage and         

provisions and the security of the men  
,i left to guard  them4    ,on the      
morning of ,september #ac we betook     
ourselves to the ascent of the  mountain
 by a track strewn with boulders1 the   
gradient being fairly easy  for the     
first five hours' march1 as far as the  
salt springs of ,erra  ,shounga4 ,from  
that point it stiffened1 and grew very  
steep indeed  between #fjjj and #ijjj   
feet4 ,the last part of the ascent to   
the entrance  of the pass that leads    
into the interior of the crater required
 the  utmost effort on the part of our  
camels1 unaccustomed as they were to    
the going in mountainous countries4     
,sixteen or eighteen hours must be      
allowed to reach the summit of the      
ancient volcano1 and one does well to   
spread them over two days if one  does  
not want to leave any camels on the way4
 ,the first stage should get  one to    
,fada1 a little pasturage at the bottom 
of a ravine accessible to  camels1 and  
where the animals should be allowed to  

rest and feed4  ,afterwards a fairly    
long halt should be made at an altitude 
of about  #fjjj feet1 to renew the      
supply of water at the natural cistern  
of  ,lantai-,kourou1 for there is no    
hope of finding water in the interior of
  the crater2 the operation is a long   
and toilsome one1 for the track  leading
 to the reservoir is inaccessible except
 to men4 ,along the whole  way there is 
hardly any vegetation1 such as there is 
being confined to  deep ravines1 almost 
always inaccessible1 except at the      
pasturage of  ,fada1 on account of the  
steepness of their sides4 ,towards the  
foot of  the mountain only stunted      
plants are to be found1 with tiny leaves
 often  sharpened into thorns2 while    
nearer the top the boughs are thicker1  
the  bark tenderer1 the sap more        
abundant1 and the leaves longer and     
greener4  ,no trees are to be found on  
,emi ,koussi in the crater itself2 on   
the  other hand1 the herbaceous         
vegetation is comparatively abundant1   

and  marked especially by the 8erendi10 
a yellow-flowered plant reminding one   
of the ,st4 ,john's wort of our regions4
 ,we bivouacked1 in a good position  for
 observing all the approaches1 in the   
midst of these bright-hued  flowers1 and
 ,i cannot tell you with what fascinated
 eyes we gazed on  them1 for none of us 
had seen their like for three long      
years4    ,the temperature was mild and 
cool like that of a fine spring in      
,france2  but in the clear sky there    
were no birds1 and the sight of the     
scowling  cliffs around us soon broke   
the charm under which our fancy would   
have  gladly lingered4    ,we stayed    
only three days in the crater of ,emi   
,koussi4 ,the afternoon of  the first   
day was devoted to the exploration of a 
pit1 #cjj yards deep  and #b miles in   
diameter1 which was once the chimney of 
the volcano4 ,a  vast expanse of        
carbonate of soda covers the bottom1    
which one can reach  only by a very     
steep path4    ,the second day was      

spent1 firstly in exploring1 both inside
 and out1 the  western slopes of the    
crater1 where there is a natural cistern
 that  enabled us to make a fresh       
provision of water1 though the track    
leading  to the reservoir is very       
perilous for the camels2 and afterwards 
in  taking certain measurements1 such as
 the height of the cliffs and the  depth
 and extent of the central pit1 called  
by the natives ,era-,kohor1 or  ,natron 
,hole4    ,the third day was given up to
 explorations in several directions1    
which  allowed us to visit some recently
 abandoned troglodyte villages1 to      
capture two prisoners1 and to reach the 
summit of the northern side of  the     
volcano1 a point from which the whole of
 the ,tibestian mountains can  be seen4 
,the evenings1 nights1 and mornings were
 icy-cold1 though the thermometer  never
 fell below freezing-point4 ,our camels1
 taken aback by the novelty  of the     
grass offered them1 cropped it very     
sparsely2 our provisions were  giving   

out1 and the rebels had fled before our 
arrival into  exceptionally difficult   
mountainous tracts1 where we could not  
dream of  following them4 ,in a word1 in
 spite of the geographical interest     
there  would have been in prolonging our
 stay on the summit of ,emi ,koussi1    
when  the fourth day came we had to     
think about getting back to ,yono4      
,illustration3 ,,steep ,,slopes ,,on    
,,the ,,flank ,,of ,,emi ,,koussi1      
,,tibesti    ,illustration3 ,,the       
,,great ,,cliff1 ,,tibesti              
,illustration3 ,,natural ,,cistern ,,of 
,,derso ,,at ,,the ,,foot ,,of ,,emi    
,,koussi    ,illustration3 ,,the        
,,crater ,,of ,,emi ,,koussi 7#cdjj m471
 ,,tibesti    ,from this excursion on   
the highest peak of the highest mountain
 in the  ,sahara ,i brought away an     
abiding impression of wild magnificence1
 and  most of all when one's thoughts go
 back to the panorama of the ,tibestian 
mountains4 ,there may1 ,i fear1 be      
something of presumption in attempting  

even a short description2 still1 ,i will
 ask your permission to make a  short   
extract from my diary on the day in     
question3    84 4 4 ,continuing our     
march northwards1 we soon reach the foot
 of the  cliffs of the northern wall1   
where1 by a natural staircase1 nearly   
#fjj  feet in height1 one can reach the 
,tiribon pass1 through which run the    
difficult paths that lead to ,miski1    
,tozeur1 and ,goumeur4    8,in front of 
us the volcano slopes steeply downwards1
 leaving open to  view the ,tibestian   
massif with the endless succession of   
points of its  serrated ridges outlined 
against the sky and stretching away out 
of  sight4 ,on our left the crater-wall 
loses itself in a confused mass of      
rocks1 while on the right rise a number 
of sharp peaks1 one of which  seems to  
be the culminating point of this part of
 the ring of heights  that shut in the  
volcano4    8,a last effort got us to   
the top of this lofty summit1 #aj1jjj   
feet above  the sea1 where we found a   

narrow platform strewn with boulders1   
with big  clusters of red and lilac     
tinted flowers growing in the gaps      
between the  stones4 ,toilsomely enough1
 ,i managed to scramble on to the       
highest rock1  and as ,i stood on it1   
there lay before my eyes1 for the first 
time1 the  mysterious ,tibestian chains 
that no explorer had ever gazed on yet  
in  their majestic entirety4 ,the       
grandeur and beauty of the sight so far 
outdid all ,i had anticipated that ,i   
could not turn my eyes from watching    
the harmonious hues thrown over the     
landscape by the rays of the  declining 
sun4 ,the intense clearness of the air  
made it easy to see  distinctly the     
remotest peaks2 all around lay long     
ridges1 their  successive summits rising
 and falling in regular points like     
lace2  scattered rocks1 deep gorges1    
dizzy precipices1 jagged peaks4 ,each   
mountain range1 though all were turned  
by the sun to the purest rose  colour1  
had its distinct shade1 brightest in the

 foreground1 softening  into mauve as   
distance melted into distance away to   
the far horizon4    8,eastwards1 the    
,tibestian massifs fell by giant steps  
whose sharp-angled  lines1 blurred by   
the first shadows of the waning day1 ran
 into one  another in inextricable      
tangles2 while to the west the mountains
  bordered an endless plain1 a          
forbidding waste of stones1 over which  
brooded and deepened a gloom that threw 
into beautiful contrast the             
rosy-mantled chains whose lofty summits 
soared into a sky of calm and  exquisite
 blue40    ,tearing myself away1 not    
without reluctance1 from the dreamy     
fancies  called up by all these glories1
 ,i made haste to take a few            
observations  with compass and          
thermometer and make a few notes4 ,the  
,tibestian reliefs  appeared to me to be
 included in a right angle1 the apex of 
which is  marked by the volcano1 and the
 two sides by the directions ,w4,n4,w4  
and  ,n4,n4,e42 such being the case1 the

 appearance of ,tibesti was totally     
different from what ,i had till then    
supposed it to be1 on the strength  of  
the statements put forward by the       
explorer ,nachtigal4 ,the rest of my    
journey was to afford me the opportunity
 of unravelling the skeins of  the      
succession of ranges1 whose apparent    
position and extent ,i could now        
approximately fix4    ,on ,september    
#ah1 towards noon1 we struck camp1 to go
 down again into the  plain by the route
 we had followed on our upward march4   
,while the  camels1 weary and emaciated1
 were painfully climbing the slopes of  
the  pass leading out of the volcano1 ,i
 took a last all-embracing look at  this
 huge crater1 #aj1jjj feet above the    
sea2 few others in the world are  so    
immense1 for it is #e miles wide and #h 
miles long1 and looks like a  gigantic  
funnel1 almost elliptical in outline1   
#be miles round and #hjj  yards deep2 on
 all sides it is shut in by a rampart of
 unbroken wall1  rising sheer almost    

everywhere for #ejj or #fjj feet1 and   
which can be got  over only at two      
points1 by openings that are very hard  
to reach4    ,behind this tremendous    
natural bulwark1 #bjj or #cjj ,koussadas
 live  miserably1 after the manner of   
cave-dwellers1 divided into two clans1  
and possessing only a few camels1 asses1
 and goats1 and a small number  of date 
palms in the neighbourhood of a few     
barely accessible springs  dispersed    
here and there about the outer slopes of
 the volcano4 ,their  staple food is a  
wild herb1 the 8,mouni10 that grows     
among the rocks1 and  yields a coarse   
flour that looks like coal-dust2 and in 
the plains at  the foot of ,emi ,koussi 
they collect the seeds of a sort of     
bitter gourd1  the 8hamdal10 which      
become eatable after undergoing a long  
preparation  intended to take away their
 extremely bitter taste4 ,at times they 
procure meat by hunting the 8,meschi10 a
 kind of wild sheep which is only  to be
 met with in the high mountains1 and of 

which throughout my journey  ,i did not 
see a single specimen4 ,they are        
supplied with stuffs1 arms1  and        
ammunition by the ,senoussists of       
,koufra1 to whom1 profiting by the  cool
 season1 they bring goats in exchange2  
but the greater part of their  scanty   
resources comes from the brigandage they
 practised until quite  recently1 with  
more or less success1 on the routes that
 lead from ,kanem  to ,borkou and       
,bilma4 ,untiring on the look-out1      
though not particularly  brave fighters1
 they succeeded in keeping up an        
unremitting watch on our  movements     
during our exploration1 and in this way 
they were able to get  possession of one
 of our camels1 too tired to keep up    
with us when we  came down again towards
 the pasture-land of ,yono4    ,we got  
back to our bivouac on ,september #bj1  
and ,i had to stay there  nearly a week 
to let the camels recuperate and to give
 them time to get  better of the wounds 
to their feet caused by the sharp edges 

of the  boulders they had had to walk on
 during that expedition4    ,i spent the
 week's rest in making calculations     
drawn from my different  observations1  
and in exploring the hot springs of     
,yi-,erra1 highly  esteemed in the whole
 region for their medicinal virtues4    
,their  temperature is #ajje ,fahr4     
7#cha ,cent471 and their flow of water  
by no  means abundant4 ,they can only be
 approached on foot and by a difficult  
path1 in about an hour3 their altitude  
is #cajj feet above the sea4    ,central
 ,tibesti4--,when our camels had had a  
rest and feed in the  pasture-lands of  
,yono1 ,i decided to transfer my        
quarters to the great  valley of ,miski1
 #ajj miles further north1 skirting the 
western foot of  ,emi ,koussi4 ,this    
valley of ,miski is one of the most     
important of the  ,tibestian massif1 not
 in the matter of its alimentary        
products1 which  hardly exist1 but from 
a military point of view1 for the       
,tibestian  rebels use it as a          

convenient meeting-place from           
which--with no great  difficulty and    
without our knowledge--they can attack  
our southern and  western lines of      
communication4 ,in the course of our    
march 7between #be  ,september and #a   
,october #aiae7 our patrols had a few   
small engagements  with the rebels1 and 
some prisoners were taken who supplied  
us with  useful information3 the        
,toubous1 informed that our expedition  
was on the  march1 were gathering their 
crop of dates--though the dates were not
  fully ripe--and meant to seek refuge  
#ajj miles further north-east1 in the   
,tarso of ,ouri4    ,the pasture-lands  
of ,miski were already abandoned by the 
rebels1 and so  we were able to march   
without fighting through the two long   
passes that  command the entrance to the
 valley4 ,a number of reconnoitring     
patrols  showed us the exactitude of the
 information mentioned above1 except in 
respect of the palm plantation of       
,modra1 where ,lieut4 ,fouch's          

detachment1 consisting of only fifteen  
men1 had to put up a pretty hard  fight 
in order to avoid being surrounded and  
cut to pieces4    ,the scarcity of food 
and the jaded condition of part of my   
camels forced  me at this point to      
divide my forces and send part of them  
back to  ,borkou1 after planning a new  
route4 ,i remained alone with my        
secretary  and thirty black soldiers to 
go on with my exploration of the heart  
of  the unknown ,tibesti4 ,my aim was to
 effect a junction with the troops of   
,bardai in the valley of ,yebbi1 and to 
explore the gorges of ,kozen and        
,goumeur in the east of the massif1     
where several rebellious tribes had     
taken refuge4    ,i left ,miski on      
,october #d1 and on the #fth ,i reached 
the watershed  between the basins of the
 ,chad and the ,mediterranean4 ,at      
sunset ,i  reached the ,mohi pass1 #ejjj
 feet high1 but the gathering darkness  
prevented me making as good use         
7topographically speaking7 of my        

presence at this spot as ,i should have 
been able to do if ,i had arrived  there
 in full daylight4 ,in that case1 ,i    
might have climbed a commanding  height 
of apparently easy ascent situated #b or
 #c miles east of the pass1  from which 
position ,i should have been able to    
grasp the general  character of this    
orographic centre4 ,as it was1 ,i had to
 cover the few  miles that lay between  
us and the palm plantations of ,yebbi in
 complete  darkness1 partly in the      
evening1 and partly on the following    
morning4  ,but through a mistake made by
 the guide it was only at half-past six 
that we saw the first palm tree1 at the 
bottom of a dark valley shut in  between
 almost vertical walls from #gjj to     
#aejj feet high4 ,the landscape  on     
every side was inky black and beyond all
 expression desolate2 the  valley was   
covered with dark boulders1 glistening  
in the sun2 no trace  of green could be 
seen1 except two thin lines of palms    
bordering a  stagnant watercourse hardly

 a dozen yards wide4 ,high mountains    
were  visible to the east1 rising 7so   
far as ,i could judge7 to #fjjj or #gjjj
  feet4    ,to get down to the bottom of
 the valley there was only a narrow     
track  littered with sharp blocks1 on   
which our camels did not know where to  
set their feet4 ,the vanguard that      
covered our toilsome descent was        
already exchanging shots with the       
,toubous1 but was finally able to get   
possession of the palm grove2 towards #i
 o'clock we could pitch our  tents1 with
 no more fighting to do4 ,a few goats   
and donkeys were our  only booty4 ,but  
soon there appeared three prisoners1    
almost naked1 whose  pitiable physical  
condition was strangely in keeping with 
the appalling  wretchedness of a        
landscape that one might have taken for 
a vision of  hell4 ,they were miserable 
slaves1 stolen by the ,toubous during   
their  forays against the inhabitants of
 ,kanem and ,wadai4 ,their state of mind
  was no better than that of their      

bodies1 and there was little to be got  
out of them about the country and its   
inhabitants4 ,at any rate1 they  enabled
 us to unearth a few hiding-places where
 we found some dates1 a  great boon to  
the members of the expedition1 whose    
rations were growing  daily shorter4    
,towards #aa o'clock a ,toubou envoy    
came1 sent by the rebels to make terms  
for their submission2 ,i offered very   
easy ones1 and treated them with        
consideration4 ,after half an hour's    
interview1 ,i sent him back to the      
rebels on whose behalf he had come1 but 
waited in vain for his return  till     
evening4    ,towards five in the        
afternoon ,i struck camp to seek a      
bivouac for the  night1 in a better     
position than the death-trap where we   
had spent the  afternoon1 and we halted1
 in complete darkness and without       
lighting  fires1 on a rocky platform    
that gave us #cjj or #djj yards of open 
ground  to fire over on all sides4      
,thanks to these measures1 we were able 

to  spend the rest of the night in      
peace4    ,next day we went a little    
further down the valley in search of    
pasturage  for our camels1 worn out with
 hunger and fatigue2 their condition    
left  small hope of undertaking the     
excursion ,i had planned in the         
direction  of ,kozen and ,goumeur1 from 
which we were still separated by two or 
three  ridges very difficult to cross1  
and where--so at least our prisoners    
said--neither pasture nor water could be
 found in readily accessible            
situations4 ,when it is added that ,i   
had no news of the ,bardai detachment   
which ,i had hoped to meet there1 it    
will be understood that ,i thought  best
 to advance in its direction two days'  
march further west1 into the  valley of 
,zoumri1 where ,i was informed of the   
presence of friendly  tribes who could  
probably supply me with some information
 about its  movements4    ,these two    
marches were very hard on our animals4  
,to cross from one  valley to the other 

we had to make our way up a wearisome   
succession of  ravines and steep slopes1
 one of which1 on the sides of a spur of
 a  precipitous cliff1 cost the         
detachment a hard piece of work in      
making a  flight of rough steps up which
 the camels1 though completely unloaded1
  had the utmost difficulty in climbing4
 ,on the other hand1 ,i had the good    
luck to see before me1 on the east and  
north-east1 a vast horizon of  mountains
 which extended and confirmed the       
observations made on the  summit of ,emi
 ,koussi1 and made certain that the     
,tibestian massif1 far  from being      
limited to the simple mountain chain    
hitherto marked on the  maps of ,africa1
 stretched away for more than #ajj miles
 into the interior  of the ,lybian      
desert4 ,during the two hours required  
for the hard climb  up this cliff ,i    
kept on taking observations of the      
numerous summits  visible in the limpid 
distances of that ocean of rocks1       
summits that  seemed to rise like a     

succession of landmarks along each of   
two or three  long ridges in sharp and  
jagged peaks1 equal in bulk and perhaps 
in  height with those of the great      
western chain1 of which a few outlines  
appeared in the gaps between the nearer 
ranges4 ,but in face of this            
accumulation of lofty peaks ,i felt a   
bitter vexation1 a sort of  resentment  
against my own littleness and           
powerlessness to set in order  their    
apparent chaos4 ,for it would have      
needed many a long excursion  made with 
two or three fresh camel-trains1 and a  
further provision of  supplies1 to      
enable me to straighten out the seeming 
tangle of these  valleys and the        
confusing intersection of the hills4    
,towards eight o'clock in the morning we
 resumed our westward march1  skirting  
on the north an isolated mountain more  
than #hjjj feet high1 the  ,toh de      
,zoumri1 which by its conical outline   
and the circular shape of  its top looks
 like an old volcano1 a supposition ,i  

had not time to  verify4 ,our route     
crossed numerous tracks converging      
towards the  mountains1 which were used 
as a refuge by large numbers of ,tda    
rebels1  subjects of the former ,dorde  
of ,bardai1 whose revolt was aided by   
the  encouragement and the supplies of  
arms and ammunition furnished by the    
,turco-,senoussists4 ,next day1 ,october
 #aa1 we entered the valley of ,zoumri  
by a pass #dhjj feet high1 and towards  
ten o'clock we bivouacked near the  palm
 plantation of ,yountiou1 where ,i was  
hoping to meet with friendly  ,tdas who 
would put me in touch with the commander
 of the ,bardai post4  ,unfortunately   
the village was deserted4    ,this fresh
 disappointment caused me little or no  
surprise2 ,i expected my  coming to     
,miski and thence to ,yebbi to be known 
by all the hillmen1 and  that our       
skirmishes with the rebels would have   
been related with no  small exaggeration
 as mighty combats2 still1 ,i felt that 
,i was too near  the goal to give up the

 attempt to reach it1 so ,i sent out    
patrols to  scour the neighbourhood and 
especially to capture a few ,tdas who   
could  guide me towards ,bardai4        
,presently an old woman was brought to  
me1  gaunt1 stooping1 and half crippled1
 but with intelligent eyes4 ,after  long
 reticence she confided to me that she  
was the mother of the chief  of that    
village1 and that her son had gone over 
to the ,french a few  weeks earlier4    
,messengers had come during the two     
preceding days1  announcing the coming  
of an expedition from ,borkou1 and when 
that  morning the watchers saw our      
camels at the summit of the pass1 all   
the  ,tdas--men1 women1 and             
children--fled panic-stricken into the  
neighbouring  rocks2 she alone had      
remained hidden in the palm plantation1 
because she  said she was too feeble to 
follow them and too old to be afraid of 
death4 ,i calmed her fears about my     
intentions as best ,i could1 telling    
her that all the ,tdas who submitted to 

,french authority could count on  my    
good will1 and urging her to bring me   
her son as soon as she could1  promising
 her that she should be treated with    
friendship and  consideration2 but as ,i
 had to continue my journey to ,bardai  
as soon as  possible1 she must          
understand that ,i should be obliged to 
procure guides  by force if ,i could not
 get them otherwise4 8,you shall have a 
guide to  take you to ,bardai10 she     
said1 8and1 if it please ,allah1 without
 needing  to use your guns2 ,i will go  
and tell my son40 ,soon after there came
 up a  little man with the same         
intelligent eyes1 young and timid       
looking4 ,he  handed me the certificate 
of submission given him only a few days 
before  by the officer commanding the   
,french forces in ,tibesti4 ,after a    
fairly  long talk he declared himself   
ready to serve me1 but begged me not to 
insist on trying to get any other men of
 his village1 for they were  grimly     
determined to stay in their             

hiding-places4 ,i trusted him1 and was  
rewarded for doing so1 for he stayed at 
my disposition upwards of a  week1 and  
thanks to his knowledge of the country  
,i was able to go on  with my           
exploration as rapidly as possible1 and 
to collect interesting  geographical    
information about the regions that lay  
off the track of my  journey4 ,to go to 
,bardai we had only to follow the sandy 
bed of the  dried-up river1 along which 
from time to time we passed by palm     
plantations and villages1 the headmen of
 which came to bid me welcome1  pleading
 their poverty as an excuse for not     
offering me the customary  presents4    
,after twelve hours' march1 when ,i had 
just passed through the  village of     
,zoui1 ,i met ,lieut4 ,blaizot1         
commanding the troops of ,tibesti1      
coming on foot to meet and welcome me   
and to express his regret that he  had  
not been able1 for want of camels1 to   
come to ,zoumri and ,yebbi to  help me  
against the rebels4 ,to see him and to  

listen to his voice as he  spoke were a 
great joy to me4 ,in spite of all       
difficulties1 ,i had just  effected the 
junction so long desired between the    
troops of ,borkou and  those of         
,tibesti2 in a few more minutes ,i was  
going at last to enter the  palm        
plantation of ,bardai that ,i had been  
dreaming of seeing for twenty  years1   
ever since ,i had read in ,nachtigal's  
impressive story of his  travels about  
the difficulties he had to get over in  
order to enter it  forty-six years      
before1 and above all to get out of it  
alive4 ,on the way  ,i had been able to 
make a mass of observations1            
topographical1 geodetic1  and           
hypsometric1 and to fix with a very     
satisfactory degree of precision  the   
situation and height of the chief       
summits of the great western chain  that
 ,nachtigal had only been able to locate
 by guesswork1 and often  without having
 even seen them4    ,at ,bardai1 where  
,i arrived on ,october #ac a little     

before noon1 ,i stayed  only twenty-four
 hours1 for ,i was in a hurry to get    
back to ,miski1 where  the little       
detachment left in charge of the        
broken-down camels and of my  last      
reserves of food must have been in a    
situation of some insecurity  since the 
#ajth4 ,during the afternoon of the     
#acth ,i was able to examine  in detail 
with the commander of the garrison the  
various questions  regarding the means  
of combining the efforts of the troops  
of ,borkou and  those of the ,tibesti   
against the rebels4 ,the night having   
been  favourable to my astronomical     
observations and the morning to         
measurements of angles on the principal 
peaks visible from ,bardai1 ,i had  been
 able in that short space of time to    
collect all the essential  elements     
needed for fixing on the map with       
satisfactory exactitude the  position of
 the most important points of ,central  
,tibesti4    ,the geographical interest 
of my journey to ,bardai did not consist

 solely  in the discovery1 to the east  
of the great chain traversed by         
,nachtigal1  of mountains whose         
existence had not previously been       
suspected2 it was  greatly enhanced by  
the fact that my observations corrected 
serious  errors of position and altitude
 committed by the famous ,german        
explorer  on the itinerary he followed  
amid so many hardships4 ,thus1 for      
example1  in the site of ,bardai there  
is an error of #ej miles in latitude and
 #cj  in longitude2 it is nearer #cjjj  
than #bejj feet above sea-level2 the    
height of the peaks of ,toussid and     
,timi is as much as #aj1jjj feet2 the   
name of ,tarso1 which ,nachtigal        
restricts to the massif he traversed1 is
  a general term applied by the         
,tibestians to all mountainous regions  
consisting of high plateaux difficult of
 access1 but on which the going  is easy
 when once one has climbed to the top4  
,lastly1 to the east of  ,bardai1       
instead of the great zone of plains     

shown on the maps there lies  a         
succession of important massifs the     
culminating point of which rises  as    
high as #hjjj feet above the sea4       
,refusing1 albeit with extreme          
reluctance1 to listen to the urgent     
insistence of my amiable host ,lieut4   
,blaizot1 ,i left the post of ,bardai   
on the evening of ,october #ad1 and by a
 moonlight march lasting almost  all    
night ,i was able to get back on the    
#aeth to my bivouac at ,yountiou  to    
make the observations1 astronomical and 
other1 requisite for checking  those of 
the previous days2 from that point ,i   
counted on returning to  ,miski1 not by 
the already reconnoitred route passing  
through ,yebbi1 but  by the ,modra route
 lying further west1 which was to afford
 me the  opportunity of reconnoitring   
another passage4 ,but a piece of news   
had  just come which very much upset my 
,tda guide ,mohammed3 there had been    
fighting in the ,modra valley between   
the ,borkou troops and the hillmen1  and

 he had very little fancy for guiding me
 through that region1 where  my         
detachment would presumably have to     
fight its way by main force4 ,for  me1  
on the contrary1 it was a further reason
 for insisting on going  there with all 
speed1 in order to afford my companions1
 if need was1 the  help of the thirty   
rifles of my detachment4    ,mohammed   
allowed himself to be convinced by the  
promise of a suitable  reward1 and by   
the use of certain outer and visible    
signs indicating  clearly that he did   
not guide me of his own free will3 he   
adjusted a  cord loosely round his neck1
 and one of my black soldiers seized    
hold of  the other end4 ,in the eyes of 
his own people his ,tda honour was safe1
  and his responsibility for the        
consequences of the subsequent          
proceedings reduced to vanishing-point4 
,mohammed guided us to perfection2 the  
chain was crossed on the second  day by 
the pass of ,kidomma at an altitude of  
more than #fjjj feet1 and on  the       

evening of the third day1 after a very  
tiring march1 we reached the  point     
where the track leaves the plateau to go
 down into the bottom of  the ,modra    
valley4 ,we got down a first drop of    
some #fj yards without very  much       
trouble1 in spite of the quarters of    
sharp-edged rock that rolled  under the 
hesitating feet of our camels4 ,then1   
after perhaps a third of  a mile of     
almost level going1 ,i suddenly came in 
sight of the palm  plantation of ,modra 
lying at the bottom of a dark narrow    
gorge deep  sunken between two almost   
vertical walls more than #aejj feet     
high4    ,i was not without uneasiness  
at this sight1 and came within a very   
little of thinking that the worthy      
,mohammed had deliberately lured me     
into some trap when he had said to me3  
8,the descent into the ,modra  valley is
 rather difficult1 but good camels can  
get down40 ,the descent  into the valley
 of ,yebbi1 which ,i had found so       
arduous eleven days  previously1 seemed 

to me now quite a reasonable sort of    
descent compared  with this one4        
,already the valley was echoing with the
 reports of  rifles2 here and there ,i  
saw ,toubous climbing the cliff-sides   
like goats  and stopping now and then to
 favour us from afar with noisy but     
harmless  shots1 and vigorous volleys of
 bad language more harmless still4      
,there being no conceivable alternative 
to consider we had to go forward4       
,covered by an advanced guard that      
returned the ,toubous' fire with a      
fusillade of doubtful efficacy1 and by a
 rear-guard that watched the  points    
from which the rebels could have rolled 
down tons of rock on our  heads1 we     
crawled downwards in a circumspect      
advance along a path that  was no       
path--that clung to the face of a steep 
cliff1 now plunging  sharply downwards  
in short zigzags1 now hanging1 a narrow 
ledge1 above  the abyss towards which   
great stones dislodged by our camels    
rolled  rumbling or leapt clattering    

down from tier to tier4 ,the camels were
  frightened2 they had to be led forward
 one by one1 and could only be got      
round corners with many stripes and     
voluble cursing4 ,a little group of  men
 went ahead of them1 thrusting aside the
 most awkward blocks1 and1  where the   
natural steps in the rock were too      
steep1 laying flat stones  at the foot  
so as to break them in two4 ,the descent
 was so toilsome and  so slow that at   
sunset we were only halfway down4 ,i had
 to call a halt1  profiting by a little 
rocky spur that afforded us a narrow    
rugged  platform where we found just    
room enough to make our camels kneel and
 to  install our bivouac4 ,the firing   
had almost ceased3 our advanced guard   
came in soon afterwards after forcing   
the rebels to abandon their  villages1  
the conical roofs of which could be seen
 shining in the  moonlight more that    
#djj feet below4 ,still further down1   
below the palms1  ran an invisible      
stream1 forming a monotonous waterfall  

that we heard  murmur in the            
neighbouring rocks4    ,illustration3 ,a
 ,,water-,,hole ,,in ,,tibesti          
,illustration3 ,,first ,,buttresses ,,of
 ,,the ,,massif ,,of ,,tibesti    ,above
 our heads little patrols1 relieved from
 hour to hour1 kept watch  on the upper 
slopes from which the ,toubous might    
have sent undesirable  avalanches       
rolling into our camp4 ,the narrow band 
of sky that we could  see was filled    
with shining stars1 by which ,i could   
make the  observations needed for       
calculating the point where we had      
stopped4 ,the  night passed1 calm and   
silent1 and next morning1 after an hour 
and a  half of fresh efforts1 we were   
able to take up our quarters quietly on 
the banks of the stream4    ,after which
 the excellent ,mohammed1 having        
received the promised reward1  took     
leave of us to return to his palm grove 
at ,yountiou4 ,but his  prudence led him
 to take quite another route1 accessible
 only to men and  goats4 ,all the       

luggage he carried was a little skin    
bottle half full of  water hanging from 
his right shoulder1 together with a tiny
 bag  containing a few handfuls of dates
 and about a pound of millet flour4 ,on 
his left shoulder1 swinging triumphantly
 from the two ends of his staff1  were  
two fine large-sized biscuit tins that  
glittered in the sun and  resounded like
 beaten gongs whenever they knocked     
against the corner of  a rock4          
,toubous in small numbers still showed  
themselves on the cliff-sides1 but  did 
not wait for the patrols ,i sent to     
parley with them4 ,after a few  hours   
spent in watering the camels and in     
filling our barrels and skin  bottles1  
we resumed our route towards ,miski4    
,the little river of ,modra  ran hardly 
more than a mile further down the       
valley1 and the dry bed of  the torrent1
 at first littered with boulders1 soon  
turned into a fine  winding road of sand
 from #bjj to #cjj yards wide4 ,twenty  
miles further on  we had to leave the   

river-bed and plunge into a chaos of    
little ridges  of schist1 intersected by
 narrow valley-ways leading into valleys
 that  came down from neighbouring high 
mountains of an altitude exceeding #ijjj
  feet3 our camels had much trouble in  
making headway among sharp edges of     
slaty rock upturned almost vertically4  
,they zigzagged from pass to pass1      
climbing steep slopes1 dropping into    
rocky ravines1 beyond which fresh       
ridges separated by fresh ravines rose  
in endless succession4 ,at last on  the 
#bast1 very early in the morning1 we    
came out into the wide flat  valley of  
,miski1 where we made a brief halt to   
allow the stragglers to  come in4 ,all  
our camels were there except one1 and ,i
 may say that ,i felt  much satisfaction
 at having succeeded in bringing them   
back to the  starting-point after this  
toilsome flying expedition of more than 
#cjj  miles1 carried out in seventeen   
days in the unknown and exceptionally   
difficult mountain region of which ,i   

have tried to give you as closely  exact
 a description as ,i can4    ,for       
another #ae miles we pursued our way in 
the great valley of ,miski1 of  an      
average width of #d to #e miles1 finding
 it pleasant to look once more  on the  
well-known landscape of peaks1 domes1   
and cliffs of the ,tarso  ,koussi4 ,the 
clearness of the air was such that all  
these mountains  seemed to be within    
walking distance1 and that in this vast 
bare basin  where not a breath of air   
stirred and where the sun blazed his    
hottest1  we had the impression of      
marching without making any progress1 so
  unchanging did the perspective remain4
    ,towards #aj o'clock we found the   
first siwak bushes with their           
characteristic peppery smell1 and clumps
 of hamal1 or bitter melon1 with  their 
dried-up fruits2 then1 a little further 
on1 a few stunted and  scattered talhas1
 a sort of acacia4 ,at noon ,i got back 
at last to the  bivouac where my        
secretary was waiting for me4 ,for five 

days1 since the  departure for ,borkou  
of ,lieut4 ,fouch's detachment1 he had  
been left  alone with seven soldiers and
 seven camel-drivers to guard the       
supplies  and the reserve camels4 ,and  
when ,i asked him whether the ,toubous  
had not  worried him during that spell  
of isolation1 he showed me his zeriba1  
well organized for defence1 with        
cartridge-boxes ready opened1 and       
replied sadly1 8,no such luck40    ,to  
console him for his long inactivity ,i  
put him in charge of a patrol  sent     
against ,youdou1 a palm plantation still
 held by rebels1 and of  which the site 
was not known2 but he had not the good  
fortune of coming  to grips with them1  
for the alarm was given by their        
sentries1 and they  drew off northwards 
into a rocky country where we should    
have had much  difficulty and lost a    
great deal of time in pursuing them4    
,none the  less1 this rush of #hj miles 
in less than forty hours across the     
awkward  country of the ,tarso ,koussi  

foothills achieved its purpose of       
forcing  the rebels to withdraw and     
fixing the site of ,youdou with the     
desired  precision4    ,western         
,tibesti4--,thus the most important part
 of my geographical and  military       
programme in the ,tibesti was carried to
 an end2 at no point had  the ,toubous  
offered a serious resistance to our     
march1 in spite of the  magnificent     
defensive positions their country       
afforded them4 ,the most  unruly among  
them had fled away to the north-east1   
more anxious to get  to a safe distance 
than to carry out their aggressive      
schemes against  our convoys of         
supplies2 the rest1 beaten off at every 
encounter1 had  let us explore their    
wild valleys without subjecting us to   
any  surprises1 whether in the shape of 
ambuscades or of the capture of  camels 
in grazing-time4 ,lastly1 the general   
physiognomy of the ,tibestian  massif   
was revealed with sufficient clearness  
by my various  observations1 and its    

real position determined with all       
desirable  precision4 ,it only remained1
 before returning to ,borkou1 to explore
 the  valleys of the western slope1 and 
try to form a junction with the camel   
corps of ,zouar4    ,i accordingly set  
out for ,tottous1 an important water    
point #gj miles  further west1 in the   
,wadi ,domar where it comes out of the  
last foothills  of the ,tibesti4 ,the   
distance was covered in four days with  
little  trouble by following the lower  
valley of the ,wad ,miski1 of which ,i  
was  thus enabled to cross in succession
 all the tributaries on the right  bank1
 till then unknown4 ,the officer in     
command of the ,zouar camel  corps1     
having been informed after my visit to  
,bardai that ,i was desirous  of seeing 
him1 came to meet me1 and we reached    
,tottous on the same day4  ,he was      
accompanied by the chief of the         
,tomagras1 the noblest tribe among  the 
,tda-tous1 the aged ,guetty1 who had    
made his submission to the  ,french     

authorities a few months earlier4       
,guetty was a handsome old man  with a  
white beard and a skin less dark than   
usual4 ,he was tall and  regular        
featured1 but his keen sly face inspired
 me with no great  confidence2 he was   
suspected of double-dealing1 and of     
supplying the  rebels with fuller       
information about our movements than us 
about theirs4  ,during two days we had  
long conversations about the restitution
 to their  families of the women and    
children that his fellow-tribesmen had  
carried  off in #aiac in the course of a
 razzia on an ,arab tribe of ,kanem2 but
 the  old rascal either could not or    
would not fall in with my wishes1       
declaring truly or falsely that the     
luckless captives had been sold as      
slaves and sent away for the most part  
to the ,senoussists of ,cyrenaica4      
,the ,return ,journey to ,borkou4--,the 
exhaustion of my camels had reached     
such a point that ,i had to stay five   
days in the grazing-grounds of          

,tottous4 ,i profited by the delay to   
explore the course of the ,wadi ,domar  
for about a score of miles in company of
 the ,zouar camel corps1 who were  going
 back to their station4 ,my food        
supplies1 which had not been  renewed   
for two months1 were coming to an end1  
and ,i could not further  prolong my    
excursions in the valleys of ,tibesti4  
,besides1 the greater  part of the      
rebels had concentrated in the region of
 ,abo1 at the north-  western end of the
 massif1 twelve whole days' march away  
from ,tottous4    ,starting on ,november
 #d for ,faya1 by a route hitherto      
unreconnoitred1 we  covered #abj miles  
of desert in six days before reaching   
the oasis of  ,kirdimi1 near ,ain       
,galakka1 by the last and utmost effort 
our camels were  capable of4 ,on        
,november #ab at nightfall ,i found     
myself back in my post  of ,faya1 whose 
stout clay huts seemed to me for a whole
 week afterwards1  if not absolutely the
 last word1 at least the last word but  

one of  comfort and civilization in the 
heart of the ,sahara4      #h4 ,military
 ,operations in #aiaf-aiag4      ,this  
exploration of ,tibesti marked the end  
of the long journeys that had  been     
indispensable to the acquisition of a   
general knowledge of the vast  desert   
regions placed under my authority4 ,the 
calculation of my numerous              
observations1 the making of general     
maps1 the setting in order of my  notes 
of travel1 and the writing of reports to
 be sent to the ,government  occupied   
all my leisure in #aiaf4 ,there was not 
much of it1 by the way1  for distant    
effects of the world-war were already   
beginning to be felt  in ,africa4 ,the  
,grand ,senoussi1 ,ahmed ,sherif1 was   
lending a more and more  willing ear to 
the suggestions of ,nouri ,bey's        
,turco-,german mission1 and  sending one
 emissary after another to preach revolt
 to the different  sultans responsible  
to the ,french and ,british authorities2
 his  exhortations were particularly    

well received in ,dar ,four and in the  
south of ,wadai1 where the ,english     
,colonel ,kelly and the ,french ,colonel
  ,hilaire had to do some serious       
fighting before they could restore      
order4    ,in the desert country ,i had 
charge of1 the unrest had become almost 
general among the nomads1 and my        
camel-corp patrols had hard work to     
maintain the regularity of our          
communications3 there were rumours of a 
great expedition of ,germans1 ,turks1   
and ,senoussists1 with cannon1          
machine-guns1 and five thousand fighting
 troops1 which was said to be  forming  
at ,koufra to cross the ,libyan desert  
and drive the ,french from  ,borkou1    
,tibesti1 and ,ennedi4 ,we made superb  
defensive preparations1 but  no         
expeditionary force from ,koufra ever   
came2 what did come to reinforce  the   
rebels were brigands and highway robbers
 who made the roads unsafe1  and whom we
 had to pursue in all directions more or
 less4 ,among the most  remarkable of   

the expeditions of this period two      
deserve special  mention3 they were led 
by ,adjutant ,amboroko1 an old black    
non-  commissioned officer whose energy1
 courage1 and high spirit won  universal
 admiration4    ,having received orders 
to go in pursuit of a strong party of   
,toubous  commanded by ,mohammed        
,erbeimi1 a particularly dangerous      
leader of  raiders who had just made a  
successful foray in ,british territory1 
he  began by covering #acj miles in     
three days4 ,then for four days he      
patrolled the neighbourhood of ,tekro   
without being able to find any  trace of
 his enemy4 ,he learnt1 however1 that   
,mohammed ,erbeimi was  encamped #acj   
miles further east1 and again covering  
that distance in  three days1 he reached
 the well of ,bini ,erdi only to find   
that the band  had decamped two days    
earlier1 following in the opposite      
direction a  route nearly parallel to   
that by which he had come4 ,allowing his
  detachment just time enough to water  

their camels and fill their skin-       
bottles1 he set out again at once1      
following the tracks of the raiders  and
 forcing the pace6 ,the pursuit1 hotter 
and hotter as the trail of the  rebels  
grew fresher1 lasted fifty-one hours1   
two of which only were  allowed for     
rest1 and he came into contact with the 
rebels at dead of  night4 ,unluckily1   
the barking of their dogs gave the alarm
 to the enemy  at the last moment4 ,our 
men leapt down from their camels and    
made a  sharp and sudden attack on the  
,toubous1 who had not time to organize  
their defence and fled headlong into the
 neighbouring rocks1 leaving on  the    
ground four killed1 all their camels1   
and the prisoners they had  taken in    
,dar ,four4    ,some time afterwards    
,mohammed ,erbeimi made an attempt to   
get his  revenge4 ,reinforced by a      
contingent of ,senoussists from ,koufra1
 he  organized a flying column a hundred
 rifles strong and flung it by a  rapid 
march on our lines of communication     

between ,borkou and ,wadai1  where our  
last supplies of the year were on their 
way4 ,thanks to the  treachery of a     
,nakazza chief1 he was able at daybreak 
to surprise one of  our convoys on the  
march4 ,though the escort counted only  
fifteen rifles  under a black sergeant1 
our black troops offered a bold front2  
but1  overpowered by numbers and        
deserted by the camel-drivers1 all they 
could  do was to save their honour and  
fall in their tracks4 ,that took place  
#aej miles south of ,faya1 in the desert
 of ,mortcha4 ,now1 it so happened  that
 ,adjutant ,amboroko1 with a force of   
seventy-five rifles1 had been           
patrolling for two days in that same    
desert1 on the look-out for  ,mohammed  
,erbeimi's raiding party1 my spies      
having notified me1 albeit  rather late1
 of its appearance on the scene4 ,he was
 not able to get on  its tracks till    
sixteen hours after the wiping-out of   
the convoy escort1  when he set off at  
once in pursuit4 ,two hours later he    

came upon it by  surprise and routed it 
in a few minutes by a vigorous          
bayonet-charge2  the enemy1 taken       
completely off his guard1 abandoned his 
booty and a  certain number of dead1 and
 made off hastily eastwards4 ,amboroko1 
an old  hand at desert fighting1        
thereupon judged it expedient to let the
  ,toubous get a few miles' start1 and  
so lead them to think that he held      
himself satisfied by the recapture of   
our supplies of cereals and of our      
camels1 and was going to take back the  
camels at once to ,faya4 ,he  calculated
 that as soon as the first spell of     
panic was over the rebels  would get    
together to discuss the advisability of 
a counter-attack4 ,his  forecast turned 
out correct4 ,resuming the pursuit under
 cover of night1  he again came in sight
 of the raiding-party towards three in  
the  morning1 in regular order once     
more1 and holding a palaver round the   
bivouac fires4 ,closing in to short     
range he poured in a rapid fire1        

immediately followed by a bayonet-charge
 that laid out a dozen ,toubous1  while 
the rest in utter panic fled at top     
speed in all directions1 some  on foot1 
others hanging on to the tails of their 
camels that made off at  full gallop    
without leaving time for their riders to
 get astride4 ,the  hunt went on till   
noon1 and supplied us with a few        
prisoners who gave  the most precise    
details of the treachery of the ,nakazza
 chief2 after  which ,amboroko retraced 
his steps to take in charge the convoy  
of  supplies and bring it into ,faya4   
,but he was of opinion that our brave   
soldiers fallen the day before were not 
sufficiently avenged1 and  providing    
himself with fresh camels he set out at 
once in pursuit1  seeking all across the
 desert the tracks of those who had     
escaped his  two counter-attacks4 ,going
 further and further afield1 he found   
himself  finally #cjj miles to the      
eastward among the rocks of ,erdi1 where
 the  families of ,mohammed ,erbeimi's  

,toubous were in hiding1 and engaged in 
two fights with them which cost the     
rebels some thirty killed2 but the  old 
chief unluckily succeeded once more in  
bringing his head safely out  of the    
business4    ,early in #aiag the revolt 
might be considered as crushed4 ,the    
tribes had  begun to discuss terms of   
submission1 all except ,mohammed        
,erbeimi's  tribe1 the remnant of which 
had taken refuge in the massif of ,ouri 
#cjj  miles north-east of ,faya1 and was
 not in a condition to do any harm for  
a certain time4      #i4 ,homeward      
,journey4      ,then ,i saw my          
interminable sojourn in the desert      
brought to an end by  the person of     
,captain ,gauckler1 an experienced      
commander of camel-corps1  who had seen 
most of his service in the ,african     
colonies1 and was come  from the ,french
 front to replace me in ,borkou4 ,thus  
my turn on the  ,western ,front was to  
come early enough to enable me to share 
in the  gigantic battle that could be   

foreseen1 from the hour when ,russia    
fell  out of the fight1 as imminent and 
decisive4 ,the ,french ,government      
having  replied favourably to my request
 for permission to return to ,france by 
way of ,egypt1 this return journey would
 allow me to effect the geodetic  and   
topographical liaison between ,borkou   
and ,dar ,four--in other words1 to      
accomplish the last part of the         
geographical programme that toward the  
end of the last century ,i had set      
myself to carry out4    ,from ,borkou to
 ,wadai4--,i left the oasis of ,faya on 
#be ,april #aiag in an                  
east-south-easterly direction1 skirting 
the foot of the western spurs of  the   
high tablelands of ,ennedi4 ,in ten days
 ,i reached the post of ,fada1  where   
,captain ,chteauvieux presented to me   
the chiefs ,gadas and  ,mourdias1 whom  
two long years of incessant struggles   
had constrained to  submit2 we discussed
 and settled in concert the conditions  
on which the  8aman0 should be granted  

them4 ,after which1 turning my back on  
the  picturesque rocks of ,ennedi1 ,i   
went on my way towards the south-west1  
across the desert of ,mortcha1 to reach 
the wells of ,oum ,chalouba4 ,these     
wells1 situated in the ,wadi ,hachim1   
belong to the ,nakazzas1 one of the     
principal ,toubou tribes of ,borkou1 who
 are masters1 under our control1  of the
 oasis surrounding the post of ,fada1   
but whose submission to our  authority  
did not prevent them from entertaining  
with our enemies  relations as cordial  
as they were clandestine1 that gave us  
endless  trouble4 ,the judgment-seat of 
the native court over which ,i presided 
was  heaped high with complaints and    
claims for damages against their chiefs1
  ,allatchi and ,djimmi4 ,their low     
cunning and double-dealing exasperated  
me2 but since my return to ,europe it   
has become evident to me that1 like     
many other reputable persons1 they were 
simply engaged in politics4             
,illustration3 ,the author's routes     

between ,tibesti and the ,nile    ,the  
wells of ,oum ,chalouba are very        
important1 both because of their        
position at the extreme southern limit  
of the ,sahara and because they  never  
run dry4 ,accordingly1 the caravans that
 go and come between ,wadai  and the    
,mediterranean by ,ounianga and ,koufra 
all pass through this  station1 where1  
it may be added1 their sojourn is       
usually brief owing to  the high price  
of food4    ,it is #adj miles from ,oum 
,chalouba to ,abch1 the capital of      
,wadai1 in a  general direction from    
north to south1 across a region of great
 plains  intersected by valleys running 
from east to west in which a few wooded 
galleries bear witness to the annual    
passage of ephemeral torrents that  come
 down from the granitic hills and       
tablelands of ,zagawa and ,tama4 ,the   
summer rains are not sufficient to      
permit the cultivation of native        
cereals1 but they produce extensive and 
abundant pasturage1 where  ,mahamid     

tribes graze fine herds of oxen and     
flocks of sheep and goats4    ,two      
military posts ensure the policing and  
administration of the  country3 ,arada1 
the commissariat centre of a camel-corps
 section1 and  ,biltine1 where a company
 of black troops is garrisoned4 ,it is  
in the  neighbourhood of ,biltine that  
the first villages of the sedentary     
tribes  are seen1 the ,mimis1 then the  
,kodois4 ,the millet fields1 small at   
first  and far apart1 increase in size  
and frequency as one gets further south2
  but the harvests are still uncertain1 
for spells of drought are by no  means  
rare4 ,the year #aiac was especially    
fatal2 the grain dried up on  the stalk1
 and there was such a shortage when the 
crops were got in that  a terrible      
famine spread over the whole country    
during the first eight  months of #aiad4
 ,many inhabitants had to emigrate      
southwards1 and those  who had not      
foresight enough to flee in time1       
chiefly old men and  children1 died of  

hunger in the villages they had not been
 willing to  leave4 ,the number of the  
inhabitants of ,wadai who perished thus 
is  estimated at more than half1 some   
say even at more than three-quarters4   
,the population of ,wadai1 put by       
,nachtigal at more than two millions in 
#ahgb1 had fallen to #cjj1jjj when ,i   
went that way4    ,abch4--,at sunrise on
 #ca ,may #aiag ,i came in sight of     
,abch1 the  famous capital of the       
sultans who had made of ,wadai one of   
the most  powerful ,soudanese kingdoms  
of the nineteenth century4 ,seen from a 
distance1 it looks like a little        
cluster1 grey and huddled1 of low       
houses1 overtopped by a few towers with 
pointed roofs1 and had nothing  of the  
handsome appearance that had impressed  
,nachtigal nearly fifty  years before4  
,it was now no more than a small town of
 three or four  thousand people1 and    
more than half ruined4 ,it is true that 
ruins are  accumulated with extreme     
rapidity in ,central ,africa1 where the 

finest  houses are only ill-built huts  
of clay kneaded and baked in the sun1   
and  quickly falling into dilapidation  
every rainy season4 ,the plain          
surrounding the town looks no better1   
being scantily covered with dry  grasses
 and little green clumps of 8m'keit0    
which our camels browsed on  with lively
 satisfaction4 ,the shrub-tribe was     
almost exclusively  represented by      
little 8oshar10 whose puffy-looking     
fruits enclose a  silky down like       
8kapok02 as for the mimosa family1 so   
abundant in the  neighbouring bush1 it  
had well-nigh disappeared1 as often     
happens near  the negro habitations     
through the wasteful use made of it as  
firewood4    ,abch has retained few     
traces of its ancient splendour4 ,the   
former  palace of the sultans1 kept till
 that time as a specimen of the         
architecture of ,wadai1 had just been   
pulled down by order of the new         
governor of the province4 ,round about  
it was strewn a mass of dbris1  on which

 were slowly rising new buildings of a  
highly military style4  ,only the       
business quarter of ,am ,sogou and the  
market-place had kept a  busy and       
animated aspect4 ,men1 women1 and merry 
black small-fry bustled  noisily to and 
fro1 inextricably mixed up with asses1  
camels1 dogs1 and  horses4 ,numerous    
,tripolitan merchants1 white-faced1     
wearing red fezzes  and long flowing    
embroidered robes1 stalked gravely back 
and forth1  making it evident by their  
decorous elegance and the satisfaction  
visible on their faces that1 in spite of
 the suppression of the slave-  traffic1
 business remained active and           
prosperous4    ,from ,wadai to ,dar     
,four4--,i was forced1 much against my  
will1 to stay  ten long days at ,abch   
before continuing my journey4 ,the road 
usually  followed from ,abch to ,el     
,fasher passes through ,dar ,massalit to
  ,kebkebia1 along the valleys of ,wadi 
,kadja and ,wadi ,barr2 it is about     
#bbj miles long and very easy1 except   

from ,august to ,october or ,november1  
when the summer rains fill the rivers   
and temporary marshes1 very  numerous in
 this region4 ,but since that route had 
been reconnoitred  formerly by          
,nachtigal1 and very recently by        
,colonel ,hilaire1 the idea  had        
occurred to me of studying a more       
northerly route unknown throughout      
two-thirds of its length1 and passing   
through ,dar ,tama1 ,dar ,guimer1 and   
northern ,dar ,four4    ,dar            
,tama4--,this project having obtained   
the approbation of the  ,government1 ,i 
was able to leave ,abch on ,june #i1 and
 plunged into a  very broken granitic   
region1 where the rise and fall was     
inconsiderable1  but which was          
intersected by numerous wooded valleys  
where marching was  no very easy matter1
 especially at night4 ,but ,i had the   
advantage of  passing through an        
inhabited tract where water was         
frequently to be  found1 a consideration
 of importance for the feeding of a     

little group  of ,zagawa women and      
children whom ,i was taking back to ,dar
 ,four after a  long and eventful       
sojourn in the wilderness4 ,captured the
 year before by  the same ,toubou       
raiders whom we had to go in pursuit of1
 they had been  delivered by our        
camel-corps1 and were going back to     
their families  under the protection of 
my escort4 ,we went from village to     
village1  forced to change guides at    
every halt1 and to stay long enough to  
listen  to the compliments with which   
the notabilities bade us welcome4 ,in   
addition to the compliments1 they       
brought us water1 millet1 eggs1 a       
little milk1 and sometimes a sheep or a 
goat4 ,around the villages there  were  
many fields of millet and sorgho1 and it
 was not unusual to meet  with gardens1 
in which cotton1 tobacco1 and spices    
were the most  frequent products4    ,in
 this way we reached the plateaux of    
,dar ,tama1 averaging from #bejj to     
#cjjj feet in altitude1 where on the    

gently undulating surface the going  was
 pleasanter than on the rough slopes of 
the foothills leading up to  the        
tableland4 ,a few lonely eminences rose 
here and there1 the loftiest  of which1 
the peak of ,nir1 visible for #cj miles 
around1 reaches a  height of #dejj feet4
 ,for the first time in more than four  
years ,i saw  once again the            
thick-leaved tamarind trees1 whose      
beautiful green is a  rest to the eyes1 
and in whose shade the traveller is glad
 to halt  during the hottest hours4     
,on ,june #ac1 after a long stage during
 which our successive guides had  led us
 in needless zigzags1 we arrived at the 
foot of ,mount ,nir1 where  there is a  
village called ,nannaoua4 ,here we      
camped in the deep shade of  two or     
three white acacias1 less than #ejj     
yards from the spot where in  #aiji one 
of the brilliant contemporary explorers 
of ,central ,africa1 the  regretted     
,english ,lieutenant ,boyd ,alexander1  
was assassinated4 ,my tent  had hardly  

been pitched an hour when a messenger   
came to announce the  visit of the      
,sultan of ,tama1 who desired to present
 his compliments and  bid me welcome4   
,this mark of courteous deference was   
all the pleasanter  from the fact that  
on leaving ,abch ,i had been put on my  
guard against  a possible want of       
cordiality during my passage through    
,tama4 ,i  immediately had a mat of     
palm-fibre1 in default of carpets1 laid 
down at  the entrance to my tent1 and   
advanced to meet the sultan1 a handsome1
  white-bearded old man with a black    
skin and kindly intelligent eyes2 he    
was dressed in the flowing robe in use  
throughout ,central ,africa1 but  made  
of fine linen richly embroidered4 ,he   
wore brown boots made in  ,europe1 and  
his careful attention to his personal   
appearance went the  length of socks4   
,on his head was a red fez1 round which 
ran a narrow  twist of white muslin1 and
 he walked with slow and stately steps1 
his  left hand resting on the shoulder  

of one of his servants4    ,our         
interview lasted upwards of half an     
hour1 and was extremely cordial2  the   
sultan urged me to break up my camp the 
same afternoon in order to  go and sleep
 in his capital of ,nir1 where he had   
had huts made ready  for us2 but in     
reply ,i alleged the exhaustion of our  
camels1 which were  in urgent need of   
grazing till evening4 ,besides1 ,i had  
to make a stellar  observation at that  
particular spot in order to calculate   
exactly the  position and altitude of   
the mountain of ,nir1 the most          
remarkable  point1 geographically       
speaking1 of the whole region4 ,soon    
afterwards ,i  saw the sultan was       
waiting for me to rise and take leave2  
,i helped him  up and accompanied him a 
few steps from my tent4 ,his servants   
and  dependents were waiting outside for
 him in the ritual attitude of the      
courtiers of the ancient sultans of     
,central ,africa1 that is to say1       
prostrated to the ground1 their knees   

and elbows resting on the earth1  and   
their hind-quarters level with their    
head4    ,he called the chief of the    
village of ,nannaoua to give him        
instructions  with a view to our        
comfort4 ,the latter got up and came to 
listen to his  suzerain's commands1     
kneeling before him with clasped hands1 
downcast  eyes1 and devoutly attentive  
face4 ,when the sultan ceased speaking1 
the  village chief clapped his hands    
several times and got up to go at once  
and transmit to his subjects the orders 
he had just received4    ,early next    
morning ,i reached the camp that had    
been prepared for me in  the shade of   
some 8kournas0 near the well1 but the   
huts were so low  roofed and            
uncomfortable that ,i preferred to pitch
 my tent1 severely  damaged as it was by
 four years' wear and tear4 ,i had to   
stay two days  at ,nir to wait for the  
arrival of four camels intended to      
replace the  pack-carrying oxen ,i had  
to send back to ,abch4    ,the capital  

of ,tama is only a small village        
covering about #ce acres1  where the    
straw huts are set rather far apart2 the
 inhabitants1 by no  means numerous1    
consist almost exclusively of the       
families and servants  of the           
dignitaries immediately surrounding the 
sultan4 ,other villages  are scattered  
about the neighbourhood1 usually lying  
at the foot of  isolated rocks of no    
great height1 but of very characteristic
  geometrical shapes1 rising out of the 
uniform tableland like natural          
landmarks destined to rejoice the hearts
 of a triangulation brigade4    ,in our 
camp an unpleasant surprise awaited us3 
hardly had we settled  down when we saw 
coming down from the kournas whole      
battalions of  caterpillars that made   
straight towards us and obstinately set 
about  climbing all over our            
packing-cases1 chairs1 clothes1 and     
persons in  quest of a quiet and shady  
corner where they could comfortably     
instal  their cocoons and go to sleep in

 the hope of a happy metamorphosis4 ,we 
hunted them1 killed them1 but to no     
purpose1 for still they came4 ,and      
these caterpillars1 sociable to a fault1
 are tormentors of the worst  type3     
wherever they go they leave behind them 
invisible hairs that burn  like nettles4
 ,next morning we were all scratching   
furiously1 unable to  find even         
momentary relief except in applications 
of very hot water4 ,my  trunk of books  
was infested1 and1 above all1 that which
 contained my  linen2 so also were my   
bedclothes4 ,all the washing1 swilling1 
and  beating ,i could do failed to rid  
my clothes entirely of this pest1 and ,i
  had to endure its tortures for long as
 best ,i might4 ,it was only when ,i    
got to ,khartoum and could get fresh    
clothes and throw away my up-country    
garments1 if such they could be called1 
that ,i really found a little  peace4   
,in the evening a thick cloud of locusts
 came and settled on the  region2 in a  
few minutes the trees were covered with 

them1 and their  green changed to the   
pink hue of these voracious insects'    
bodies4    ,the sultan came repeatedly  
to see me4 ,he was fond of talking and  
telling  me his history and that of     
,tama during the preceding decade2 he   
also  told me the story of the murder of
 ,boyd ,alexander as it was related to  
him not many days after the tragic event
 by his predecessor the ,sultan  ,othman
 and the chief ,adem ,rouyal1 commander 
of the ,forian force sent  from ,dar    
,four by the ,sultan ,ali ,dinar to     
drive the ,french out of  ,wadai4#b ,the
 sultan was above all interested in the 
,franco-,anglo-,german  war2 he asked   
question after question1 and ,i had a   
great deal of trouble  in giving him a  
hazy idea of the formidable masses of   
war material1  supplies1 cannon1 rifles1
 and the unheard-of numbers of men      
brought into  action on both sides4     
,thanks to his good offices1 ,i was able
 to get the supplies ,i was in  daily   
need of for my detachment2 and in these 

days of excessively dear  living it will
 not perhaps be without interest to give
 a summary list1  at this point1 of the 
prices that were asked me3              
s4   d4      ,a small yearling ox       
#ab      #j      #bjj lbs4 of millet    
flour    #d      #j      ,an            
average-sized sheep      #b      #f     
,chickens                    #j      #f 
,one pound of butter         #j      #c 
onions         #j      #c      ,a quart 
of milk             #j      #a    ,had  
we been wise enough to have rational    
ideas about railways in ,africa1  and to
 have them in time1 what a help the     
,black ,continent would be to us  now6  
,i trust the ordeal we are going through
 to-day may induce ,france  and ,great  
,britain1 the two great guardians of the
 ,black population1 to  join in intimate
 union in order to labour together at   
the great work of  opening up ,africa   
and turning its resources to account--a 
work that must  be undertaken at once6  
,but this is a vast question1 and one   

that must be  treated separately2 so ,i 
beg to be excused for this digression4  
,in the afternoon of the #ajth1 having  
succeeded in hiring the necessary  five 
camels1 two of them enormous1 and the   
other three of the tiniest1 ,i  took    
leave of ,sultan ,hassan to go on with  
my journey towards ,guimer4  ,four days 
later ,i arrived at ,koulbouss1 the     
temporary residence of the  ,sultan of  
,guimer4    ,dar ,guimer4--,the welcome 
,i received was of the chilliest4 ,two  
hundred  yards from the village a son of
 the ,sultan ,idriss came all alone to  
meet  me1 and announced that his father 
had started a few days earlier for ,el  
,fasher2 and then1 skirting the village1
 he led me down the valley to a  spot   
where a dilapidated hut1 not far from a 
well and at the entrance of  what had   
once been a piece of enclosed land1 was 
offered me in which to  take up my      
quarters4 ,i had great difficulty in    
obtaining a few  provisions1 and two    
days were spent in animated discussions 

before ,i  could get a guide and four   
hired camels to replace those lent me in
  ,tama4 ,even so ,i only got them      
thanks to the good offices of a ,zagawa 
chief who had come to greet me on my    
passage because he had on a former      
occasion found his relations with the   
,french authorities of ,wadai turn  out 
greatly to his advantage4 ,but ,i could 
not get the sort of current  information
 about the country and its inhabitants  
usually given to  travellers by the     
natives4 ,however1 when ,i showed my    
surprise at the  residence of the       
,sultan of ,guimer at ,koulbouss1 which 
is in ,tama  territory1 the son of      
,sultan ,idriss condescended to explain 
that that  installation was only        
temporary1 having been authorized       
towards #aiaj by  ,sultan ,hassan of    
,tama by reason of the raids the ,sultan
 of ,guimer had  had to undergo at the  
hands of the ,forian bands of ,ali      
,dinar4 ,his return  to his own capital 
was to take place shortly1 the          

occupation of ,el  ,fasher by the       
,anglo-,egyptian troops having put an   
end to these  incursions4    ,i left    
,koulbouss on #bb ,june early in the    
morning1 with no great  confidence in   
the success of my enterprise1 for the   
guide assigned to me  did not seem any  
too satisfied at the idea of taking me  
to ,kebkebia1  from which we were       
separated by a stretch of almost        
completely  uninhabited country nearly  
#abj miles across1 and in which the     
water-  points were few and quite       
possibly dried up4 ,very luckily1       
everything  went as well as could be    
imagined2 ,i saw no trace of the        
,senoussist  raid1 so called1 which     
local rumour credited for some time with
 having  caught me by surprise1 taken me
 prisoner1 and carried me off as a      
hostage to ,koufra4 ,a few wells were   
found1 very nearly dry1 but we were     
careful in husbanding our supply of     
water4 ,we saw very few inhabitants  and
 met no caravan4 ,what worried me most1 

and most unexpectedly1 was the  grazing 
question1 for the country1 though       
covered with scrub1 was so  dried up    
that our camels hardly ever got a       
satisfying feed and grew most           
disquietingly thin4    ,dar ,guimer is  
hardly more than a gently undulating    
plain of somewhat  uniform appearance1  
#ajj miles across from east to west1 and
 #bj from  north to south4 ,the         
inhabitants1 few in number1 if ,i may   
accept the  accounts given me1 seem less
 inclined to tillage than to            
cattle-raising4  ,the soil is usually   
clayey1 very marshy from the end of     
,july to  ,december1 but almost         
completely waterless from ,april to     
,july4 ,the  valleys come down fanwise  
from the tablelands of ,tama on the     
west1 of  ,zagawa on the north1 and     
northern ,dar ,four on the east4 ,they  
meet on a  level with the ,djebel       
,kichkich 7,hadjer ,moull7 to form the  
,wadi ,kadja1  one of the parent        
branches of the ,bahr-,salamat1 which is

 one of the most  important valleys on  
the right bank of the ,shari1 the main  
affluent of  the ,chad4    ,during the  
morning of ,june #be we reached the     
southern limit of ,dar  ,guimer at the  
wells of ,taziriba2 only #c yards deep  
and flowing  abundantly at all seasons1 
they were situated in a valley where    
there  are no trees of any size1 but an 
abundant growth of scrub4 ,the wells1   
usually silted up1 had been dug out     
afresh a few days previously1 on the    
occasion of the ,sultan ,idriss' visit  
to ,dar ,four4 ,having thus been able   
to water our camels and renew our own   
supply1 we left the territory of        
,guimer the same evening1 to go and     
sleep half a score of miles further  on4
    ,between ,guimer and ,dar           
,four4--,it is interesting to notice    
that the  tribes whose territories      
separate ,wadai from ,dar ,four         
7,massalit1 ,tama1  and ,guimer7 have   
always left a wide belt of uninhabited  
country between  themselves and ,dar    

,four4 ,at some points its width exceeds
 #ajj miles1  while no similar solution 
of continuity exists between them and   
,wadai4  ,it should not be concluded1 as
 is sometimes done1 that these          
territories  are desert-like in         
character1 for they are watered every   
year by the  summer rains and covered   
with an abundant vegetation1 for the    
most part  thorny and stunted1 it is    
true4 ,these lands are not incapable    
even of  settled habitation1 for it     
would suffice to bore a few wells1      
around  each of which men could take up 
their quarters in permanence1 with      
fields of grain and cotton and pasturage
 for cattle4 ,such unpeopled  regions   
are common in ,central ,africa1 and each
 of them constitutes a  neutral zone1 a 
sort of 8no man's land0 that separates  
the territories  of two hostile tribes4 
,it was across a belt of this kind that 
our route now lay1 a belt about  #gj    
miles wide between ,saf1 the last       
village of ,guimer1 and ,rml1 the  first

 of ,dar ,four4 ,on ,june #bf a long    
morning march brought us to the  wells  
of ,dlb1 situated at the crossing of an 
important route chiefly  used by native 
traffickers on their way to barter the  
grain of ,massalit  for the salt of ,dar
 ,four at the market of ,diell1 some #bj
 miles north of  ,kebkebia4 ,the site   
was pleasant and covered for a space of 
several miles  in length and #bjj or    
#cjj yards in breadth with fine harazes 
and kournas1  which gave us the illusion
 of a great shady park at home2 but the 
lack  of water in the well and the way  
our store of eatables was running short 
did not allow us to yield to the        
temptation of resting there a day4      
,we had to start again in the afternoon 
and march till dark in order to  reach1 
early next morning1 the wells of ,chibk1
 whose immediate  neighbourhood1 so our 
guide told us1 was infested by lions2   
but we had  not the pleasure of seeing  
any4 ,a further stage of a score of     
miles at  last permitted us to get out  

of the uninhabited region and reach the 
,wadi ,gueddara1 at the point where it  
comes out of the mountains that  mark   
the watershed between the basins of the 
,chad and the ,nile4    ,western ,dar   
,four4--,these mountains seemed to be   
much more important  than the maps and  
descriptions of former travellers had   
led me to  suppose4 ,they formed a long 
and rather confused chain1 running      
approximately from north to south2 and  
their chief summit1 mount  ,dourboull1  
some #cj miles to the east1 rose to more
 than #gjjj feet above  sea-level4    ,i
 spent ,june #bh at the village of ,rml1
 where ,i received a very kind  letter  
of welcome from ,lieut4-,colonel ,savile
 ,pasha1 governor of the  province1 who 
put at my disposal an escort of six     
soldiers of the native  police4 ,i      
wanted to ascertain the exact position  
of this village1 but  rain fell at      
intervals throughout the evening and    
night and prevented me  from observing  
the indispensable stars4 ,if ,i was     

vexed1 the natives were  delighted1 for 
the damp soil would enable them to sow  
seed for the first  time that year4     
,next day ,i had only a dozen miles to  
cover in order to  arrive at the        
advanced post of ,kebkebia1 the furthest
 west of the  military posts in ,dar    
,four1 and during that short march ,i   
enjoyed the  happy and restful feeling  
of the sailor who1 after a long voyage1 
sees  shining on the horizon1 across the
 calm of the spent waters1 the  cheerful
 harbour lights4 ,we advanced along the 
western foot of the  chain1 gradually   
nearing it1 and noticing that it seemed 
to connect with  the massif of ,djebel  
,marra1 of which from time to time ,i   
could see for a  moment the highest     
peak1 more than #ej miles to the        
south-south-east4 ,we  went along       
through a smiling and prosperous-looking
 country1 already  covered with         
springing grass1 dotted with green      
trees1 and broken here  and there by    
rocky heights that did not rise higher  

than #djj feet4    ,the natives1        
scattered about their fields1 watched   
our caravan go by  without              
unfriendliness or sign of misgiving1 and
 then betook themselves  again to their 
work with the serene dignity of men who 
till the soil4  ,both in the explicit   
picture it makes and in suggestion1     
their husbandry  is very different from 
ours4 ,the noble gesture familiar in our
 western  fields1 of the sower sowing   
his seed broadcast along the furrows1 is
  lacking on ,african plains4 ,the man  
,i was watching walked straight on1     
holding in both hands a hoe bent into a 
right angle2 at every second  step1     
without stopping or even stooping1 he   
made with it a tiny hole1  hardly more  
than a scratch in the tawny sand4 ,he   
was followed by a  child1 a boy clad in 
a simple sunbeam1 carrying a calabash of
 millet1  and parsimoniously letting    
fall into each hole a few grains that he
  summarily covered by turning a little 
earth over them with his bare  toes4    

,happy lands1 where man is satisfied    
with hard1 coarse grain1 and  where the 
earth1 in return for but small pains1   
breaks forth into  abundant harvest4    
,which of us shall judge between them1  
and say whether  it is better to be     
exacting in one's wants1 and with great 
labour to  attain to one's desire1 or to
 be content with little and find that1  
with  hardly an effort1 that little may 
be had8    ,i was welcomed on my arrival
 at ,kebkebia by the commander1 a native
  officer of the #acth ,sudanese        
,battalion1 ,sub-,lieut4 ,sad ,effendi  
,adam1  accompanied by a sergeant of    
,engineers1 ,sergeant ,gasterens1       
,r4,e41 in  command of the wireless     
telegraphy post1 and by the headman of  
the  village4 ,thanks to their good     
offices1 comfortable shelters were found
  for us1 and ,i could procure all the  
food required for the use of my  party4 
,the village is of small extent1 poor   
and dreary in appearance4 ,it  is said  
that the sultan ,ali ,dinar had the     

greater part of the  inhabitants        
deported a few years ago after          
confiscating their property1  to punish 
them for showing too much esteem for a  
certain marabout named  ,faki ,sini1    
regarded in the district as a worker of 
miracles4 ,the one  that made the       
deepest impression on the natives1 ,i   
was assured1  consisted in being able to
 change colour and volume whenever he   
liked1  and even make himself entirely  
invisible1 which did not prevent him    
from  letting himself be surprised and  
made short work of by the myrmidons of  
the sultan incensed at his growing      
prestige4    ,i had to stay four days in
 the neighbourhood of ,kebkebia1 the    
first part  of the time being spent in  
going back to ,rml to make arrangements 
for  the return of my escort and hired  
camels to ,abch2 ,i also hoped to make  
the astronomical observations ,i had    
been unable to make on the night of  my 
arrival4 ,but ,i had my labour for my   
pains4 ,all four days the sky  remained 

almost constantly overcast and the rain 
fell in torrents1 the  clouds came in   
great masses from the west-south-west1  
and1 striking the  mountain chain at the
 foot of which lie ,rml and ,kebkebia1  
they  dissolved in rain that fell at    
frequent intervals1 while on the other  
side of the chain there fell only rare  
and insignificant showers4    ,it was   
only the last day that ,i could make the
 planetary observations  required for   
fixing the positions of ,kebkebia1 mount
 ,dourboull1 and the  summit of the     
,djebel ,marra2 this last is notably    
higher than the #fjjj  feet above the   
sea attributed to it by the maps of     
,africa3 my first  calculations allowed 
me to fix its altitude somewhere between
 #ijjj and  #ihjj feet4    ,i left      
,kebkebia on ,july #b1 starting in the  
afternoon in an easterly  direction1    
skirting the foot of mount ,dourboull on
 its southern side4  ,the track1 cleared
 of scrub for a width of a dozen yards1 
lay along a  ground rocky indeed1 but   

presenting no serious difficulties4 ,we 
came  across no villages1 though the    
country is inhabited4 ,here and there on
  the hillsides one could see stone     
enclosures1 in groups of twenty to      
thirty1 which till a short time         
previously had been villages whose      
inhabitants had withdrawn higher up the 
mountain in order to escape1 so  at     
least we were told1 from the former     
sultan's incessant and vexatious        
requisitions4 ,they were not themselves 
described to us as particularly         
desirable1 being inclined to banditism2 
but ,i can offer no evidence on  the    
question1 for they did not trouble the  
march of my little caravan4    ,on ,july
 #d1 for the third and last time1 ,i    
crossed the line that  separates the    
waters of the ,chad basin from that of  
the ,mediterranean1  at the ,kowra      
,pass1 which is at an altitude of about 
#djjj feet2 then1  coming down from spur
 to spur across the ,djebel ,kowra ,i   
reached the  ,djebel ,om1 a very broken 

region1 chaotic in appearance and       
covered with  scanty scrub1 stunted1    
prickly1 and almost leafless1 where our 
exhausted  camels found but little      
sustenance4 ,from place to place we     
crossed  recently worked deposits of    
salt4 ,the salt is very much mixed with 
earth1 and the richest beds are         
indicated by the swollen1 cracked1 and  
friable character of the soil4 ,as in   
other salt-producing regions in         
,central ,africa1 the salt-bearing earth
 is washed for a longer or shorter  time
 in washing and filtering baskets2 then1
 when the saline solution  has become   
concentrated enough1 it is heated in    
clay jars1 on the inside  of which the  
salt crystallizes as the water          
evaporates4 ,the product thus  obtained1
 though impure and grey-coloured1 is    
pleasant to the taste1 and  supplies a  
great part of the market in ,dar ,four  
and the neighbouring  countries4    ,in 
the afternoon of the #eth1 leaving      
behind us the last salt-beds of ,om     

,bakour1 we got clear away from the     
mountainous zone and made our way for   
four days across the undulating plains  
that stretch eastwards beyond ,el       
,fasher4 ,the further ,i went the       
clearer grew the panorama of the chain  
,i  had just crossed4 ,spur after spur1 
fantastically shaped1 extended in  long 
succession to the north1 while towards  
the west and the south the  summits of  
the ,dourboull and the ,djebel ,marra   
towered above the rest of  the mountains
 and stood out boldly against the sky1  
especially at dusk1  a moment at which  
the light was particularly favourable   
for the  observations required for      
determining their position and altitude4
 ,in  the plain of shifting sand1 dotted
 here and there with isolated rocks of  
huge size1 real natural geodetic        
signals1 the landscape stretched away   
monotonously1 almost without trees or   
even grass4 ,the fertilizing rains  of  
the first few days of ,july not having  
reached further than the  djebels ,i had

 just crossed1 the sowing had not begun1
 and the  inhabitants of the villages   
that succeeded one another at regular   
intervals down the valleys ,i traversed 
were feeling a little uneasy4    ,at    
sunrise on ,july #i1 after passing by   
the hamlet of ,zadia1 ,i came in  sight 
of the capital of ,dar ,four2 it seemed 
to be a place of  considerable extent1  
and to consist of thatched huts grouped 
by distinct  quarters along the east    
side of a bare valley4 ,in the uniform  
grey of  the city ,i hardly noticed more
 than one remarkable building1 white1   
and  shaped like a tiara1 and dominating
 the northern part of the town2 and     
towards the centre a clump of green     
trees1 from which emerged a             
construction of ,european style4 ,the   
former was the ,koubba of ,zakaria      
,zata1 the tomb of the sultan ,ali      
,dinar's father2 the latter was the     
sultan's old palace turned into the     
residence of the ,governor of the       
,province4    ,beyond the town ,i could 

see low lines of hills1 on the north the
 ,djebel  ,wana1 and on the east the    
,djebel ,fasher1 at the foot of which a 
year  before the ,forian army had been  
routed by the ,anglo-,sudanese troops of
  ,colonel ,kelly4 ,to the south a sandy
 plain of a fine tawny colour  stretched
 away to the horizon1 intersected by the
 long1 dark green  ribbon of the ,wadi  
,el ,ko1 a sub-tributary through the    
,bahr el ,ghazal of  the ,nile4         
,westwards various djebels of greater or
 less importance stood  out in broken   
lines against the distant curtain of the
 great chain of  western ,dar ,four4 ,a 
few moments later ,i was joined by a    
group of  horsemen3 it was ,his         
,excellency the ,governor of ,dar ,four1
 ,lieut4-,colonel  ,r4 ,v4 ,savile      
,pasha1 who bade me welcome and took me 
to the ,residency1  where the most      
cordial hospitality awaited me4    ,el  
,fasher4--,on the evening of my arrival 
,i installed as usual the  prismatic    
astrolabe and the box of chronometers   

for my daily  astronomical observation1 
and when it was finished ,i was filled  
with a  deep and intimate joy3 after    
eighteen years of persistent effort ,i  
had  at last reached the geographical   
goal that ,i had set myself to attain in
  ,central ,africa4 ,that last          
observation1 made in the palace yard of 
,el  ,fasher1 set the seal1 once for    
all1 on the liaison of the geodetic     
systems of the basins of the ,niger1 the
 ,chad1 and the ,nile1 for the          
longitude of ,el ,fasher had just been  
determined by the officers of the       
,sudan ,survey ,department by the aid of
 the telegraph line recently            
established between ,khartoum and ,el   
,fasher4 ,i had to stay twelve days in  
this town in order to carry out1 in     
conference with the ,governor of ,dar   
,four1 a mission with which ,i had been 
entrusted by the ,governor of the       
,territory of the ,chad4 ,this mission  
concerned the policing of the           
borderland of the two ,governments1 and 

the settlement of the claims  arising   
out of depredations committed by the    
rebel tribes of ,ennedi4  ,after we had 
come to a complete understanding ,i drew
 up1 in  collaboration with ,mr4 ,a4 ,c4
 ,pilkington1 a provisional map1 on a   
scale  of #a_/a1jjj1jjj1 of the part of 
the ,franco-,anglo-,egyptian borders    
affected by our agreement4 ,during all  
this time1 need ,i say that ,i was  the 
object of the utmost kindness and       
attention on the part of the  ,governor 
and the ,british officers who surrounded
 him4 ,their friendly  reception of me  
remains one of my most treasured        
recollections of this  journey4    ,el  
,fasher seemed to be a town of from     
fifteen to twenty thousand  inhabitants1
 and one of the finest-looking native   
cities ,i have seen in  ,central        
,africa2 it is built on sand-dunes      
surrounding a temporary lake  that dries
 up a few weeks after the end of the    
rainy season1 and in  which in the dry  
season the natives dig hundreds of      

wells1 the water of  which is then sold 
at an average price varying between a   
halfpenny and a  penny a gallon4 ,the   
town stands on two sides of the lake1   
somewhat in  the shape of a circumflex  
accent1 open to the southward1 and whose
 apex  is marked1 roughly speaking1 by  
the ,koubba of ,zakaria2 the eastern    
side  of this angle is more particularly
 occupied by traders and natives1  while
 the governor's palace and the greater  
part of the official  buildings are on  
the western side4 ,between the business 
town and the  administrative town lies a
 great square1 a sort of ,champ de ,mars
 where  festivals1 parades1 and reviews 
take place1 and where once a week the   
band of the battalion gives a concert4  
,what struck me most in this town is its
 well-kept and green appearance2  the   
streets are wide1 the houses in good    
repair and surrounded with  trees       
7mostly serrahs74 ,there are none of the
 hovels1 the broken-down  walls1 the    
heaps of refuse so often found in       

,sudanese cities1 except  perhaps on the
 south side1 where1 at the time of my   
passing through the  town1 a group of   
,fellatas had set up a camp of dirty    
little straw huts  in which men1 women1 
children1 and cattle sprawled in an     
indiscriminate  heap4    ,the sultan    
,ali ,dinar1 who had spent part of his  
youth in the valley of  the ,nile with  
the ,khalif of the ,mahdists1 had       
acquired there a taste for  green trees1
 fine houses1 and broad avenues4 ,his   
palace had been  carefully constructed4 
,the principal building1 a rectangular  
white house  two stories high1          
surmounted by a terrace1 opened         
northwards on to a  garden planted with 
palms and lemon-trees4 ,the rooms were  
large and  comfortable1 and from the    
second storey windows the ,sultan could 
see not  only the whole of his palace   
and his capital1 but also a vast        
panorama  over the surrounding plain1   
the valley of the ,wadi ,el ,ko1 the    
mountains  of ,kebkebia1 and even the   

,djebel ,marra1 whose imposing mass can 
be seen  when the sky is very clear1    
more than #gj miles to the south-west4  
,other  houses1 less sumptuous1 but more
 original because local in style1       
equally attract one's notice in the     
interior of this palace1 in which  one  
loses one's self in a labyrinth of      
walls1 courtyards1 and  outbuildings4   
,these houses are large round huts with 
simple clay walls1  but whose roofs1    
admirably thatched1 are often connected 
by long wide  verandahs4 ,these were the
 apartments of the princesses1 light1   
roomy1  and comfortable4 ,ali ,dinar's  
sthetic preoccupations have been rare   
among ,sudanese monarchs1 but it must be
 admitted that in order to  embellish   
his palace and his capital he had all   
but ruined his kingdom1  reducing half  
the population to a sort of             
semi-slavery1 filling his  harem with   
concubines1 distributing his subjects'  
cattle among his  favourites and the    
,arab merchants who brought him precious

 merchandise  and weapons and ammunition
 sent by the ,senoussists4 ,he dreamed  
of  extending his empire1 and lent a too
 ready ear to the preachers of the      
,holy ,war1 who1 under the gis of the   
,grand ,senoussi and the ,grand ,turk1  
dreamed of driving ,french and ,british 
out of ,africa4 ,it was with him as     
with so many other despots3 he fell     
through pride4 ,had he shown more       
wisdom and diplomacy he might well have 
been reigning still in ,dar ,four4      
,there would be many more things to say 
about ,el ,fasher1 but ,i have  already 
dallied too long over the pleasant      
memories left me by my  sojourn in that 
town4 ,i beg to be excused inasmuch as1 
though ,i was  still #agjj miles from   
,cairo1 ,i considered myself as having  
reached the  end of my journey4 ,there  
only remained three weeks' march with   
camels  that would bring me to the      
railway terminus at ,el ,obeid across an
  inhabited country not merely known but
 already organized2 ,i must leave  the  

pleasure of describing it to one or     
another of the ,british officers  who   
have conquered and pacified it1 and who 
know it better than ,i1 who  passed     
through it too quickly to be able to    
study it as it deserves4    ,from ,el   
,fasher to ,cairo4--,i left ,el ,fasher 
in the evening of #ba ,july  #aiag1     
passing through ,um ,gedada and ,dam    
,gamad to ,el ,nahud1 where ,i  arrived 
on ,august #d4 ,i left again on the     
#fth1 deeply touched by the  hearty     
welcome of the ,district ,inspector1    
,major ,j4 ,g4 ,n4 ,bardwell4 ,on       
,august #ac1 towards four in the        
afternoon1 as ,i came within sight of   
,el  ,obeid1 ,i heard for the first time
 in five years the whistle of a         
locomotive1 and its strident note was   
sweeter to my ears than the most        
classical music1 for it told me that ,i 
had at last reached the gate of         
civilization2 and the same evening1 at  
dinner with ,his ,excellency the        
,governor of ,kordofan1 ,mr4 ,j4 ,w4    

,sagar1 the sight of the graceful and   
charmingly dressed ladies who were      
present confirmed that delightful       
impression4    ,the next day was a very 
busy one1 for ,i had to discharge my    
native  escort1 pay my camel-drivers1   
put in order1 mend1 and bring to the    
train  my numerous cases of instruments1
 collections1 and documents1 in order   
to take on the ,wednesday the bi-weekly 
train4 ,i was only able to do so  thanks
 to the unwearied kindness of the       
,governor and of the ,garrison          
,commander1 ,major ,t4 ,s4 ,vandeleur1  
,d4,s4,o4    ,on ,august #ae1 at #g     
o'clock in the morning1 ,i took the     
train for  ,khartoum4 ,the faithful     
blacks who had come with me all the way 
from  ,borkou were filled with gaping   
wonder at the sight of the long heavy   
string of carriages moving by itself4   
,his ,excellency the ,governor and  the 
,garrison ,commander had come to the    
station to wish me a happy end to  my   
travels1 and to see that ,i had         

everything ,i wanted4 ,let me be allowed
  here to express once more my lively   
gratitude6    ,then followed two long   
days in the train across the wide plains
 of  ,kordofan1 the crossing of the     
,white ,nile by a monumental bridge1    
then  the arrival on the ,blue ,nile at 
,sennar1 where passengers were waiting  
who had come from the ,upper ,nile2 then
 ,wad ,medina in the afternoon1 and     
finally1 in the middle of the night1    
,khartoum4    ,i stayed a week in       
,khartoum1 where ,i was the guest of the
 ,civil  ,secretary1 ,feilden ,pasha1   
and ,dr4 ,p4 ,s4 ,crispin1 ,director of 
the ,medical  ,service4 ,it was an      
enchanting week that ,i spent in that   
pearl of the  ,sudan1 which is already  
visited by many a tourist1 so great was 
the  consideration shown me by my hosts 
and by the high officials and  officers 
of the capital4    ,i left ,khartoum on 
,august #bd1 arrived in ,cairo in the   
morning of the  #bhth1 and on the #cjth 
had the honour of being presented at    

,alexandria by  the ,french ,diplomatic 
,agent to ,his ,excellency the ,british 
,high  ,commissioner in ,egypt1 ,sir    
,reginald ,wingate4    ,as there was no 
boat ready to start for ,france1 ,i was 
able to satisfy my  impatience to see an
 up-to-date fighting front by a visit to
 the ,british  front lines opposite the 
,turkish trenches which at that time    
defended  ,gaza4 ,then1 returning to    
,alexandria1 ,i embarked for ,malta4    
,from there ,i  reached ,syracuse1 and  
thence1 by ,messina1 ,naples1 ,rome1 and
 ,modane1 ,i  arrived on #a ,october    
#aiag in ,paris1 and from there a few   
weeks later ,i  joined the ,french      
front4      #aj4 ,conclusions4          
,geographical ,results4--,in the course 
of this lengthy statement ,i have  set  
forth in their respective places the    
principal geographical results  obtained
 during the last five years of my stay  
in ,central ,africa2 but it  will       
perhaps be convenient to group them in a
 separate paragraph4    ,in the first   

place1 the great geographical problem of
 ancient fluvial  communication between 
the basins of the ,chad and the ,nile is
 definitely  solved2 the mountainous    
barrier encircles the basin of the ,chad
 from the  ,toummo ,mountains on the    
north to the ,djebel ,marra on the      
south-east1  passing through the massif 
of ,tibesti1 the plateau of ,jef-,jef1  
the  tablelands of ,erdi and ,ennedi1   
the hills of ,zagawa1 and the mountains 
of  western ,dar ,four4    ,in the      
second place1 the lowest altitudes of   
the ,chad basin are found in  the plains
 of the low-lying region situated to the
 north-east of ,lake  ,chad1 which we   
have designated as 8the ,lowlands of the
 ,chad40 ,the lowest  altitude1 of #afj 
metres 7about #ebj feet71 was found in  
the ancient lake  of ,kirri1 at a       
distance of about #bej miles from ,lake 
,chad4    ,it is towards this low-lying 
zone that all the great valleys of the  
hydrographic system of the ,western     
,sahara seem to converge4 ,it is to be  

presumed that1 such being the           
conditions1 the tracing of a hypsometric
  curve of #bej or #bfj metres of       
altitude 7that is to say1 slightly      
superior to that of the actual ,chad7   
would fix the limits1 in the region  of 
the ,chad1 the ,lowlands of the ,chad1  
and ,borkou1 of the ancient  ,central   
,african lake zone1 the existence of    
which is proved by the  agreement of the
 geological1 topographical1             
ichthyological1  malacological1 and     
other observations made in these regions
 in the  course of the last twenty      
years4 ,are we to see in the remains of 
this  former ,caspian of the ,sahara the
 ,chelonide marshes of the geographers  
of  the ancient world8 ,to do so would  
not be altogether unreasonable if it  be
 taken into account that1 so far as ,i  
am aware1 there is not to be  found in  
the south-west of the ,lybian desert any
 other low-lying region  combining      
conditions so favourable to the         
existence of a vast zone of  lake or    

marsh4    ,again1 if we bear in mind    
certain local traditions declaring that 
towards the beginning of the nineteenth 
century native navigators were  able to 
go in boats from the ,chad to the       
,lowlands of the ,chad by the  ,bahr el 
,ghazal 7an assertion that the present  
appearance of ,lake ,kirri1  recently   
dried up1 makes sufficiently probable71 
one may conclude that  until the early  
centuries of the ,christian era this    
low-lying and now  completely waterless 
region of the lowlands of the ,chad may 
have been a  great zone of lakes and    
marshes dotted with sandy or rocky      
archipelagoes4    ,other facts may      
equally be noted in corroboration of    
this hypothesis4  ,firstly1 the numerous
 layers of shells of river molluscs and 
the large  quantity of fish-bones to be 
met with there3 among the latter a      
fragment  of a skull and vertebr        
examined by ,m4 ,j4 ,pellegrin1 which he
 thought  were to be attributed to a    
,nile perch 7,lates ,niloticus1 ,l47 of 

about #f  or #g feet in length 7in the  
,comptes ,rendus de l',acadmie des      
,sciences1  tome #afh1 ,no4 #ai1 p4     
#ifc4 ,sance de #ab ,may #aiai72 and the
 discovery of  an elephant skeleton in a
 region where neither grass nor water is
 any  longer to be found4 ,attention    
might also be drawn to the rock-drawings
  of ,yarda1 where hippopotami are      
represented among horses1 camels1 dogs1 
and ostriches2 or to the numerous ruins 
of settled villages found all up  and   
down1 especially where the ,bahr el     
,ghazal falls into the ,djourab4        
,lastly1 it may be mentioned that on the
 platform of certain rocks in  ,borkou  
may be found great cemeteries that a    
native chief attributes to a  completely
 vanished race of 8black ,christians40  
,but our researches  revealed to us no  
trace or vestige of ,christian religion1
 perhaps  because we could not devote   
enough time to them4    ,a third        
important result has been to reveal the 
geographical form of  important mountain

 masses like ,tibesti and ,ennedi1      
hitherto shown in a  very imperfect     
fashion on the maps of ,africa1 and the 
existence of  another important massif  
called that of ,erdi1 connecting the two
 above  mentioned4 ,moreover1 the       
information we received permits us to   
reveal to  geographers the existence in 
the centre of the ,lybian desert of yet 
another mountain mass1 the ,djebel ,el  
,aouinat1 situated about #aej miles     
south-east of the oasis of ,koufra1 and 
of which the altitude probably  exceeds 
#djjj feet4    ,a fourth interesting    
result has been the precise             
determination of the  difference of     
longitude ,paris-,faya by direct hearing
 of the wireless  time-signals of the   
,eiffel ,tower4 ,numerous rectifications
 of the  positions attributed to various
 important points have resulted1 the    
most  notable being that which throws   
more than #ej miles to the ,n4,n4,w4 the
  positions attributed by ,nachtigal to 
,barda1 the peak of ,toussid1 the       

valley of ,zouar1 etc4    ,a fifth      
important result is furnished by the    
discovery in northern  ,borkou of the   
,harlania ,harlani1 which authorizes us 
to affirm the  ,upper ,silurian age of  
all the sandstone sedimentary formations
 of  ,tibesti1 ,erdi1 and ,ennedi4    ,a
 sixth point will also1 no doubt1 be    
remarked by geographers3 from the  peak 
of ,toussid that dominates the          
north-west of the ,tibestian massif  to 
the ,djebel ,marra overlooking the      
plains of south-western ,dar ,four1     
that is to say1 for more than #hjj miles
 in a straight line1 numerous           
hypsometric determinations have been    
effected which modify--sometimes by     
several thousand feet--the altitudes of 
the chief summits of the mountain  chain
 that separates the basin of the ,chad  
from that of the  ,mediterranean3 in    
,tibesti1 ,toussid1 #aj1gjj feet instead
 of #hbjj1 ,emi  ,koussi1 #aa1bjj feet2 
in ,ennedi1 the plateau of ,erdb1 #dcjj 
feet2 in  ,tama1 the peak of ,nir1 #dgjj

 feet2 in ,dar ,four1 the peak of       
,dourboull1  #gbjj feet1 the ,djebel    
,marra1 #ihjj feet instead of #fjjj4    
,these figures  are given merely as an  
indication subject to the rectifications
 that  will follow the revision now     
proceeding of the summary calculations  
rapidly effected during my journey4     
,lastly1 the establishment of the       
geographical liaison between the ,niger1
  the ,chad1 and the ,nile1 by a chain  
of astronomical positions determined    
with very satisfactory exactitude1      
constitutes a seventh result1 all the   
more interesting in that it will permit 
the drawing up of four sheets of  the   
international map of the world1 thanks  
to the #aj1jjj kilometres of  surveys   
traced by my collaborators and myself   
during this long  expedition4      ,from
 this geographical liaison allow me to  
pass to another kind of  liaison and say
 a few words on a subject ,i have       
particularly at heart1  and which is the
 conclusion not only of this five years'

 journey but  also of all the journeys  
,i have had the opportunity of making in
 ,central  ,africa since the beginning  
of the twentieth century1--,i mean the  
importance1 ,i will even say the        
necessity1 of ,franco-,british          
collaboration in the great work of      
,african civilization4    ,when ,i first
 set foot on the ,dark ,continent1 in   
#ahif1 tropical and still  mysterious   
,africa was a subject of discussions and
 rivalries between  ,french and ,british
 colonials2 but at the present time     
twenty years of  fruitful emulation have
 ended in a definite and final division 
of our  various possessions1 and it     
seems to me that henceforth ,africa is  
destined to be the tangible pledge of   
the union of our two countries4    ,i   
believe that in ,england as in ,france a
 considerable number of  thoughtful men 
hold that it is above all to the        
,african continent that  we must look in
 a very large proportion for the supply 
of raw material  and foodstuffs that we 

need4 ,the question is whether it is    
more to the  advantage of ,france and   
,england to co-operate as closely as    
possible in  developing these vast and  
practically unworked regions1 or whether
 it is  preferable for them to pursue   
this object separately1 each country    
limiting its means of action to its own 
sphere of influence4    ,for my part1 ,i
 hold that the answer is not doubtful3  
our two countries  should unite their   
resources for a loyal collaboration in  
this essential  work1 so as to assure   
its complete success as rapidly as      
possible4 ,i  know that the problem is  
no very simple one2 but have we not     
solved  harder ones in the course of    
these last years1 when for both our     
countries the question was 8to be or not
 to be08 ,and since it would  appear    
that the great and formidable economic  
struggle that is beginning  on the      
morrow of the victory is destined to be 
as keen1 if not keener1  than the       
military struggle1 it seems to me that  

the hearty1 loyal1 and  complete union  
of our efforts can alone assure us of   
success4    ,the ,trans-,sudanese4--,it 
is an axiom henceforth beyond argument  
that the  utilization of the riches     
running to waste in ,tropical ,africa   
cannot be  seriously taken in hand until
 an adequate system of railways is      
constructed4 ,allow me1 in bringing this
 lecture to an end1 to explain  what    
seems to me the most rational way of    
conceiving the general  programme of the
 ,african railways north of the equator4
    ,in the first place1 we must endow  
,africa with a great transcontinental   
line from west to east1 destined to     
ensure rapid communication between  the 
different ,french and ,british colonies 
bordering on the ,sudan4 ,i have        
proposed for this railway the name      
8,transsudanese0 7,comptes ,rendus of   
the ,academy of ,sciences1 vol4 #afi1 p4
 #dah4 ,sitting of #a ,september #aiai  
7,gauthier ,villars1 ,paris772 and its  
main lines1 roughly indicated by the    

natural features of ,africa1 and        
following the #acth degree of north     
latitude1 should include the following  
points3--    7a7 ,dakar and ,konakry1   
starting-points on the ,atlantic ,ocean2
    7b7 ,ouagadougou1 ,sokoto1 ,kano1   
,fort ,lamy1 ,khartoum1 crossing the    
,french ,sudan1 ,british ,nigeria1 the  
,french territory of the ,chad1 and the 
,anglo-,egyptian ,sudan2    7c7         
,port-,sudan and ,djibouti1 termini on  
the ,red ,sea4    ,secondly1 along this 
8,transsudanese0 would be formed        
junctions at the  most suitable points1 
with local branch lines from the        
different ,french  and ,british colonies
 that succeed one another along the     
,atlantic coast  from the mouth of the  
,senegal to that of the ,congo4         
,thirdly1 this railway system would be  
connected with the ,mediterranean       
ports--on the east by the ,nile valley  
railway from ,khartoum to ,cairo2 on    
the west by a ,french 8,transsaharian10 
starting from the great bend of  the    

,niger and connecting with the railway  
systems of ,tunis1 ,algeria1 and        
,morocco1 and at some future time with  
that of ,europe by a tunnel under  the  
,straits of ,gibraltar1 or simply by    
train-ferry4    ,among the many reasons 
urgently in favour of the construction  
of the  ,transsudanese1 ,i will confine 
myself to stating what seems to me the  
most important and perhaps the least    
known1 the question of labour4 ,for  it 
is generally agreed that the opening up 
of ,tropical ,africa cannot be          
undertaken without the large            
co-operation of black labour4 ,now1 for 
long  years to come four-fifths of that 
labour will have to be supplied by the  
,sudanese populations1 much less wild   
and much less indolent than the  great  
majority of the coast populations1 and  
consequently better fitted  to lend     
useful aid to ,european enterprises4    
,this ,sudanese population1  which may  
be estimated at some fifteen millions at
 the lowest count1 is  spread over more 

than a million square miles 7#djjj miles
 from west to  east from the ,atlantic  
to the ,red ,sea1 and #bej to #cjj miles
 from north  to south1 between the #aath
 and the #aeth degrees of north         
latitude74    ,to recruit workmen       
scattered over such vast distances and  
convey them  without loss of time to the
 points where ,european enterprises are 
ready  to employ them1 it is evident    
that an unbroken line of railway must   
pass  through the total length of the   
inhabited zone--that is to say1 of      
,sudanese ,africa4 ,and it is of supreme
 importance that this railway  should   
not have to take into account the       
political frontiers of the  various     
colonies passed through1 and that its   
one concern should be to  traverse the  
regions in which the population is      
densest4    ,such is one of the main    
considerations that fix the choice of   
the  itinerary and bring me to the      
conclusion that the ,transsudanese--a   
work  of general interest in ,africa1   

and more particularly a work of         
specially  ,franco-,british             
interest--ought to be undertaken without
 delay1 and pushed  forward as actively 
as may be by the cordial co-operation of
 ,france and  ,great ,britain4    ,these
 remarks do not apply to the local      
railways of the different  colonies1    
though they may be expected to          
participate largely in the  traffic of  
the ,transsudanese1 either by carrying  
down the products of  the interior to   
the ports of the coast or by giving     
access to the  regions in need of       
development1 and in which ,sudanese     
labour will be  required4 ,i am of      
opinion that these railways1 limited as 
they are to  the particular territories 
of the several colonies whose economic  
development they ensure1 should continue
 to be constructed and managed1  as     
hitherto1 by the colonies they serve3   
those colonies should bear the  expense 
of such local lines by their own        
financial resources1 or by  those placed

 at their disposal by the               
mother-country4    ,as for the          
,transsaharian1 destined to connect the 
railways of ,north  ,africa 7,morocco1  
,algeria1 ,tunis7 with those of the     
,niger basin1 ,i have  had the          
opportunity of saying in another place  
that it has become a  vital necessity of
 ,french colonial policy in ,africa--a  
necessity that the  great war has proved
 to demonstration4 ,for this reason ,i  
hold that its  construction should be   
regarded as a work of strictly national 
interest4  ,still1 a glance at the map  
will convince the observer of the profit
 that  will accrue to the ,british ,west
 ,african colonies1 especially when it  
becomes possible to cross from ,europe  
to ,africa without the  inconvenience of
 a sea-passage4 ,i have often been met  
by the objection  that the              
,transsaharian 8will not pay02 that it  
will be almost  exclusively a strategic 
railway1 very laborious to construct1   
and very  costly to keep in working     

order4 ,such is not my opinion4 ,the    
,transsaharian1 once the junction       
effected with the ,transsudanese1 will  
connect two exceedingly rich            
regions--the ,africa of the ,arab and   
,berber  races and ,black ,africa4      
,between these regions a considerable   
commercial  traffic will arise1 which   
will have an influence as great or even 
greater than that of the ,transsudanese 
itself on the economic  development of  
,africa2 its receipts per kilometre will
 be as large if  not larger than those  
of the most favoured of the railways    
running from  the colonies along the    
coast inland towards the ,sudan1 for the
  ,transsaharian will be the direct     
means of penetration into the richest   
regions of tropical ,africa1 not only   
from ,north ,africa1 but also from  the 
whole of ,western ,europe4              
#ahga-aiai      ,may ,i say one word    
about ,tibesti and ,borkou1 and so      
conclude8 ,half a  century ago1 when    
,nachtigal1 after exploring the         

,tibesti1 came to the  shores of ,lake  
,chad1 before setting out again to      
complete his work by  the exploration of
 ,kanem and ,borkou1 he learnt by       
letters from ,tripoli  the victories    
that his native country of ,germany had 
won over ,france4  ,and again1 when he  
returned to ,europe after four long     
years of absence1  he found that peace  
had been made two years earlier1 and    
that our  provinces of ,alsace and      
,lorraine had become part of ,germany   
and were  called the ,reichsland2       
,france1 humiliated1 was just finishing 
the  payment to the conqueror of the    
milliards that were to hasten the       
liberation of her territory4    ,by a   
striking example of the way in which    
history sometimes repeats  itself1 but  
with a difference1 war was once more    
forced on ,france by  ,germany at a     
moment when ,french explorers had just  
set foot in ,borkou  and ,tibesti in    
order to rectify1 revise1 and complete  
the unfinished  work of the ,german     

explorer6 ,and the joy that filled the  
heart of  ,nachtigal when he returned to
 ,europe to find his country triumphant1
 and  her borders widened with the      
spoils of war1 swells in our hearts     
to-day6  ,for it is ,germany now that   
knows the humiliation of paying         
milliards to  obtain the liberation of  
her own territory1 while the tricolour  
floats  over ,metz and ,strasburg1 and  
watch indeed is kept1 but to other      
music1  on the ,rhine6    ,from this    
parallel1 may ,i venture to conclude    
that in her treasure-house  of colonial 
jewels ,france may well find a place for
 arid ,borkou and the  barren ,tibesti4 
,for would it not seem that they are1 in
 some sort1  talismans1 and that when   
,gaul and ,german grapple on the banks  
of the  great river that was set by     
nature and destiny to hold them apart1  
,fortune1 that wayward goddess1 shall   
give victory to whichever country  has a
 son exiled in those mysterious regions1
 seeking1 by rock and  desert1 new ways 

across their ancient sand8              
,translated from the ,french by ,w4 ,g4 
,tweedale1 ,m4,a41 ,oxon4      ,before  
the paper the ,,president said3 ,it is a
 special pleasure to us to  welcome here
 this evening that well-known ,french   
explorer and  geographer1 ,colonel      
,tilho4 ,we had been long hoping to have
 the pleasure  of receiving him and of  
hearing an account of his recent        
journeys from  #aiab to #aiag1 but owing
 to the press of official business he   
was not  able to come here in the       
summer1 and it is only by the greatest  
good  fortune1 and by the exercise of a 
little tactful pressure upon the        
different ,governments1 that he has been
 able to be present this evening4  ,this
 is not the first occasion upon which he
 has been before the  ,society4 ,he gave
 us a most interesting paper about ten  
years ago1 so  that he is not a         
stranger1 and we are very glad to       
welcome him again4  ,what he will       
describe to us this evening will be his 

journeys in ,central  ,africa and the   
,french ,sudan between the years #aiab  
and #aiag2 and it was  for the valuable 
work which he did during those journeys 
and for his  general contribution to    
geographical knowledge that we awarded  
him1 two  years ago1 our ,patron's ,gold
 ,medal4 ,i have1 therefore1 very great 
pleasure in introducing ,colonel ,tilho 
to you and asking him now to  address   
us4      ,colonel ,tilho then gave in   
,french a summary of the paper printed  
above1                        and a     
discussion followed4    ,the ,,president
 7after the paper73 ,sir ,henry         
,mc,mahon1 who was ,high  ,commissioner 
in ,egypt during part of the war1 is    
present here1 and we  shall be very glad
 if he will kindly make some            
observations in regard to  ,colonel     
,tilho's interesting lecture4           
,colonel ,sir ,,henry ,,mcmahon3 ,we are
 much indebted to ,colonel ,tilho for a 
most interesting paper to-night4 ,it is 
not only of very great interest1  but a 

valuable contribution to geographical   
knowledge4 ,i will leave the  discussion
 of the lecture as regards its          
geographical and cartographical  aspect 
to others1 but there is one portion of  
the paper to which ,i  should like to   
call your attention4 ,as ,colonel ,tilho
 has told you1  during the war the      
,germans and ,turks got a footing in    
,tripoli4 ,he has  told you how ,enver  
,pasha's brother1 ,nuri ,bey1 landed on 
that coast1 and  with him many ,germans4
 ,their object was to get into touch    
with the  ,senussi2 raise the whole     
country against us through the ,senussi 
influence1 and threaten our western     
flank both in ,egypt and the ,sudan4    
,they very nearly succeeded2 and if our 
brave allies1 the ,french1 had not      
forestalled them in the country         
described to-night1 they would          
undoubtedly have established themselves 
there4 ,it is a valuable  objective as  
being the first place in which water and
 supplies can be  got after leaving the 

oasis of ,kufra4 ,we will imagine for   
one moment  that they had established   
themselves there4 ,you can at once see  
what a  dangerous focus of intrigue and 
unrest1 what a source of danger it would
  have been on our flank all along our  
western front4 ,having forestalled  the 
enemy there1 no further trouble ensued1 
but our friend the ,sultan of  ,darfur1 
who misjudged the time of the ,senussi  
arrival and counted too  confidently on 
their aid1 had already started          
hostilities with us1 and a  war ensued  
which in times of peace would have      
attracted wide public  attention but in 
the days when our interest was so       
concentrated on other  fronts it almost 
escaped notice4 ,suffice to say that by 
a brilliant  series of military         
operations1 our troops1 under the       
direction of ,sir  ,reginald ,wingate1  
the ,sirdar of the ,sudan1 drove him out
 of his capital  and took the whole of  
his country4 ,if the ,senussi had at    
this time been  established with their  

,german and ,turkish assistants on our  
flank1 it  might have been a very       
different job indeed4 ,i look upon this 
incident  as an object lesson of the    
good that co-operation can effect in a  
work  of this kind1 and it is1 ,i hope1 
not only an object lesson of what has   
been done in the past times of war1 but 
an augury of what we can do and  should 
do between us in the future times of    
peace4 ,as ,colonel ,tilho has          
explained to you1 co-operation is       
essential for the development of this   
great country of ,africa1 and ,i trust  
that it will be the guiding  principle  
of our two great nations not only in the
 development of that  country1 but in   
furthering the welfare of the backward  
peoples placed  under our guardianship4 
,the ,,president3 ,the ,french ,military
 ,attach is present and we should be    
very pleased if he would kindly address 
us4    ,general the ,,viscomte ,,de ,,la
 ,,panouse3 ,je ne savais pas que       
j'aurais   prendre la parole ce soir en 

sorte que je me trouve un peu pris au   
dpourvu4 ,je vous demanderais donc la   
permission de m'exprimer en  ,franais4  
,il y a quelques vingt ans1 il eut t    
impossible de discuter  ici dans une    
atmosphre de calme et de confiance      
mutuelle une question  relative au      
centre du ,continent ,africain4         
,heureusement depuis cette  poque1 grce 
aux bienfaisants accords de #aijd1 les  
malentendus entre le  ,royaume ,uni et  
la ,france se sont dissips1 l',entente  
,cordiale est ne1  elle s'est dveloppe  
et elle a vu son couronnement dans une  
alliance  militaire troite et loyale    
pendant la plus grande guerre que le    
monde  ait vue4 ,le ,colonel ,tilho vous
 a expos pourquoi dans le dveloppement  
conomique de ce ,grand ,centre          
,africain1 l'action unie des deux       
grandes  ,nations est ncessaire sous    
peine d'aboutir  un gaspillage inutile  
d'efforts et d'argent4 ,mais je vois    
aussi une autre raison pour laquelle    
nous devons travailler ensemble2        

l',empire ,britannique et la ,france ont
  lutt pendant cette grande guerre pour 
faire triompher les principes du  droit 
et de la libert contre l'oppression et  
la barbarie4 ,notre  victoire nous a cr 
des obligations et en particulier celle 
de dfendre  les populations noires      
contre la tyrannie des marchands        
d'esclaves et de  l'oppression des      
sectes musulmanes et de leur donner le  
bien-tre auquel  a droit tout tre       
humain4 ,ce devoir ne sera utilement    
rempli que si nos  nations s'entendent  
sur les mesures  prendre et les ralisent
 en  commun4 ,la belle uvre d'humanit   
accomplir sera ainsi un nouveau lien    
entre les deux ,grandes ,puissances qui 
se partagent le continent  ,africain4   
,the ,,president3 ,we have been         
fortunate to catch ,sir ,harry          
,johnston4 ,he is  one of our greatest  
authorities upon ,africa generally1 both
 ,central and  ,northern4 ,we should be 
very glad if he would make some remarks4
    ,sir ,,harry ,,johnston3 ,i had the 

honour some years ago1 just after the   
war  had started1 of showing you a      
somewhat similar map of ,africa with    
railways designed on it partly by my own
 fancy1 and ,i may say to a great       
extent by following ,french fancies too2
 for about that time ,i had been  in the
 north of ,africa1 and had been allowed 
to pursue for a certain  distance the   
tracing of the projected trans-,saharan 
railway1 the  progress of which was only
 stopped by the war4 ,i conceived then  
the idea  that it was of the highest    
importance to ,western ,europe that that
 line  should be made1 though ,i1 like  
most of you1 did not appreciate the     
influence on affairs that the submarine 
would have2 but of course that          
conviction has been strengthened by the 
events of the war4 ,had we had  the     
trans-,saharan railway in existence     
during the war we should not have       
suffered as much as we did from the loss
 of some of the most important          
materials for our industries caused by  

the interruptions of the sea  routes1   
the destruction of steamers1 etc4 ,it is
 a matter of absolute  necessity1 ,i    
consider1 that that trans-,saharan line 
should be made to  link up the valley of
 the ,niger with ,french ,north ,africa1
 and further  with ,western ,europe2    
because1 as ,colonel ,tilho has pointed 
out1 the  channel between ,tangier and  
the ,spanish coast could be easily      
patrolled  and kept free of submarines1 
and even crossed by train ferries4 ,then
  another point ,i should like to raise 
is as to the further exploration of     
those ,tibesti highlands and the lofty  
plateaus that are connected with  them  
on the north-west and south-east4       
,colonel ,tilho did not mention in  his 
discourse what he said to me privately1 
that he had found in some  parts of that
 region1 possibly ,borku1 fossilized    
bones of elephants4 ,he  has referred to
 the native legends and to the drawings 
on the rocks  which point to the        
existence of hippopotami in regions now 

entirely  devoid of surface water4 ,he  
showed some of these engravings4 ,they  
are  very similar to rock drawings which
 can be traced right across the  ,sahara
 desert1 exhibiting a fauna now         
completely passed away4 ,one reason  why
 ,tibesti should be explored is1 that we
 might find there the fossil  and       
semi-fossil remains of a very extensive 
tropical ,african fauna1  because that  
isthmus of high land between the south  
of ,tunis on the  north1 and ,darfur and
 the regions round ,lake ,chad on the   
south1 seems to  have been the principal
 route by which the fauna of ,miocene   
and ,pliocene  ,europe and the          
,mediterranean basin reached ,tropical  
,africa4 ,there are  more and more      
indications that the ,sahara desert to  
the west and the  ,libyan and ,nubian   
deserts to the east were formerly under 
water1 and  therefore checked the       
progress of beasts and man across the   
,sahara into  ,central ,africa2 but this
 high ridge always remained well above  

the  limits of such lakes1 marshes1 or  
inland seas4 ,tibesti was a well-       
watered region with at one time quite a 
heavy rainfall down to about  twenty    
thousand years ago4    ,before the war  
suspended such enterprises1 the savants 
of ,france were  exploring the wonderful
 sub-fossil remains of ,algeria which   
revealed to  us the existence there of a
 mammalian fauna resembling that of     
modern  tropical ,africa1 of the region 
south of the ,sahara4 ,with that fauna  
were  mingled in a very interesting     
degree creatures which at the present   
time  are restricted to ,india4 ,for    
instance1 there was something so like an
  ,indian elephant that it might be     
called the ,indian elephant1 existing   
almost down to the human period in      
,algeria4 ,there was a wild camel1 an   
equine resembling a zebra2 there were   
gnus1 hartebeests1 oryxes1 and  other   
types of modern ,african antelopes2 and 
there was a ,tragelaph  allied to the   
,nilghai2 there was a huge buffalo with 

almost incredible  horns--#ad feet      
long--incredible were it not that its   
existence is proved  not only by its    
fossil remains but by the drawings of   
primitive man4 ,the  ,foureau-,lamy     
,expedition1 ,i believe1 found many of  
the dry torrent-beds  of the elevated   
,ahaggar region choked with hippopotamus
 bones4 ,there is  everything to point  
to quite a recent and rapid change in   
the climate of  the ,sahara1 which1 well
 within the human period1 was a region  
abounding  in water derived from a heavy
 rainfall1 and richly endowed with      
forest  areas1 as we may see from the   
remains of petrified trees4 ,this will  
bring home to you what gains might come 
to science and to our knowledge  of the 
evolution of life on this planet if we  
could only thoroughly  explore the      
,sahara1 and above all such regions as  
the ,tibesti highlands4    ,major       
,,hanns ,,vischer3 ,just after ,i had   
crossed the ,sahara1 some years  ago1 ,i
 had the great pleasure to meet ,colonel

 ,tilho in ,nigeria2 and last  time we  
met--,i think in #aiji--to celebrate our
 homecoming in ,paris1 we  spoke of the 
work in ,africa of our two respective   
countries4 ,during my  journey1 and     
whenever ,i met the ,french in those    
regions1 ,i was  particularly impressed 
by the difficulties and privations these
 officers  suffered so cheerfully4 ,in  
,nigeria we had our railway1 and we got 
frequent leave4 ,as ,i remembered those 
isolated posts in the heart of the      
,sahara1 while looking at the pictures  
we saw to-night1 separated by  hundreds 
of miles1 rarely getting a mail or any  
provisions from the  coast during those 
long years of war1 when few boats went  
to the ,west  ,coast of ,africa1 ,i was 
filled with admiration for the work done
 by  ,colonel ,tilho and his comrades4  
,in the course of his lecture the       
,colonel  showed clearly how necessary  
it is for us to co-operate in ,africa1  
not  only for the welfare of the native 
people but also for the very  existence 

of our respective colonies4 ,he has     
shown to us to-night how  well we can   
complement each other4 ,when that       
,german-,turkish column  advanced south 
across the desert1 at a moment when we  
had sent most of  our troops from       
,nigeria to ,east ,africa1 it would have
 been a hard thing  for the people in   
our colony if the officers under        
,colonel ,tilho's  orders1 assisted by  
some native troops sent north from      
,nigeria1 had not  been able to arrest  
the enemy's progress4    ,the           
,,president3 ,i know you will all want  
me to congratulate ,colonel ,tilho  on  
your behalf on the lucid1 graceful1 and 
humorous lecture he has given  us this  
evening4 ,there has been great talk     
about the co-operation  between us and  
the ,french1 and ,i think we might go a 
little deeper even  than that4 ,when we 
can get a ,french officer like ,colonel 
,tilho over here  in the flesh1 and can 
hear from his own lips what he has done1
 when he  shows us pictures of the kind 

of country he has had to make his way   
through1 the kind of people he has had  
to make friends with3 when we see  all  
that1 certainly we who have had to do   
similar work in other parts of  the     
world--and probably you at home1 even   
though you have not had that  great     
pleasure and honour1 must have a very   
deep fellow-feeling with him  and his   
compatriots--we feel that there is      
something deep and common  between us   
when we realize so vividly the work that
 they are doing1 the  difficulties that 
they have had to encounter1 and the     
great work of  civilization and         
humanization which they are carrying on 
in these far  remote recesses of        
,central ,africa4 ,we have had to do the
 same things  ourselves in other parts  
of the world4 ,we see the results of our
 own  efforts1 and ,colonel ,tilho this 
evening has shown us what the ,french   
have done in opening out the great arid 
wastes of the ,sahara desert and  the   
,french ,sudan4 ,what they have done and

 what we have done is good for  the     
world as a whole4 ,it has all been      
opened out gradually in the course  of  
years1 not only for the ,french and not 
only for the ,british1 but for  all     
nations4 ,therefore we here in ,england1
 we in this ,society1 will send  forth a
 very hearty word of congratulation to  
the ,french1 and especially  to ,colonel
 ,tilho1 for the great work which they  
are doing in ,central  ,africa4 ,he has 
made very important geographical        
discoveries1 and has  referred to new   
methods of geographical observation4    
,wireless telegraphy  for the purpose of
 determining longitude is a             
comparatively new method1  but one which
 is vastly valuable1 because1 as we who 
have tried to  determine longitudes in  
far-away places know1 in old days it was
  impossible to get the longitude at all
 exactly4 ,we could get the  latitude   
fairly accurately1 within a few hundred 
yards1 but longitude we  could never get
 to within a few miles4 ,now by means of

 wireless  telegraphy we are able to get
 longitude with almost complete         
exactitude1  even in the heart of the   
,french ,sudan4 ,colonel ,tilho has also
 made a  slight allusion to another     
modern invention which ,i think in      
future will  prove of great service1 and
 that is the aeroplane4 ,we shall hear  
more of  that at our next meeting2 but  
when you see those vast waterless       
regions1  when you hear from ,colonel   
,tilho of the enormous difficulty in    
getting  across them with camels1 then  
we see of what use the aeroplane might  
have been made for preliminary          
geographical reconnaissance4 ,those two 
inventions1 ,i am certain1 will be of   
enormous service to geography4 ,i  now  
wish on your behalf to tender to        
,colonel ,tilho a most hearty vote of   
thanks for his lecture this evening1 and
 also for his great kindness1 at        
considerable personal inconvenience1 in 
coming across from ,paris to give  us   
this paper4      ,,footnotes3           

,footnote #a3 ,a sort of camp-followers 
whose business in life is warfare  in   
all its branches except that of         
fighting3 experts in all manner of      
desert craft1 scouts1 flank-guards1     
finders of strayed camels or sorely     
needed wells4 ,swift to detect the      
incompetence or bad faith of local      
guides1 they form the necessary         
complement to the fighting strength of  
any expedition in ,central ,africa4     
,footnote #b3 ,this account will be     
published in the next number of the     
,journal4--,,ed4 ,g4,j4