EM13UCTOO, a celebrated city of Central Africa, is said to have been founded in 1216 by Meuse Soliman. It has always been the emporium of the trade of Central Africa, and as it has never been visited by any European tra veller or merchant, it has excited a curiosity which is now beginning to subside. The accounts of the size and magnificence of Tombuctoo have been greatly exaggerated; and when we compare the latest notices of it obtained by Captain Lyon, with the earlier accounts published by Mr. Jackson in his account of Morocco, we can scarcely avoid coming to the conclusion, that Tombuctoo will dwindle down into an African city of ordinary di mensions.
According to Mr. Jackson, Tombuctoo is situat ed in a plain, about 12 miles north of the Niger; is 12 miles in circuit, is surrounded by sandy emi nences, and has no walls. The houses are spacious, and of a square form,with an opening in the centre, towards which the doors open, and have in general no upper apartments. Close to the entrance door is a building consisting of two rooms, called a duct ria, in which visitors arc received and entertained, in order that they may not see the women, who are very handsome. The accommodation for travellers consists of a large house, with an open space in the middle, round which are rooms sufficient for con taining a bed and a table. The profits on the trade to this place were said to be so great, that S5000 invested in European commodities at Mogadore, in Fez, would produce in one or two years a return of 20,0001.
An American sailor of the name of Adams, who was wrecked on the eastern coast of Africa in 1810, and detained three years in slavery by the Arabs of the great desert, says that he resided several months in Tombuctoo, and he published in Lon don in 1816 a narrative of' his adventures. He de scribes the city as occupying nearly as much ground as Lisbon, but without walls and fortifica tions. The houses were not continuous. They consisted of a ground floor merely, were built with sticks, clay, and grass, and were furnished with the rudest domestic implements. The palace consisted of 8 or 10 small rooms on a ground floor, not even white washed, and built of clay and grass. Adams saw no shops at 'l'ombuctoo. The articles of trade consisted principally of tobacco, tar, gunpowder, blue nankeens, blankets, earthen jars, and some silks. Ile states, that the city stands on a level plain, having a river about 200 yards from the town, on the south east, called La Mar Zarah, and 3.4ths of a mile wide.
The information more recently obtained through Captain Riley, an American, who was shipwrecked in 1815 on the coast of the Sahara, seems quite at variance with that of Adams. He obtained it from an African merchant, Sidi Hamet, by whom he was purchased and brought to Mogadore.
Hamet described it as a large place, six times more populous than Mogadore. The population is entirely negro, and no mussulman is allowed to enter, unless 50 at a time from each caravan, and unarmed. But there is a distinct town, he says, which formed the residence of the mussulmen who were permitted to remain at Tombuctoo. It is separated from the other by a slim partition wall. A strong wall of stone and clay encircles the city, which is entered by four gates which are closed at night. The palace consists of the same materials as the wall, and is lofty and of considerable extent. The houses are chiefly built of reeds, though there are several of stone. A small river runs close to the town, but the Zolibib (Joliba) a large river, is at the distance of an hour's ride of a camel.
The most recent account of Tombuctoo is that of Captain Lyon, collected from the African mer chants during his residence in Fezzan. Accord ing to him the town is walled; the houses very low, and with the exception of one or two wide streets, irregularly built. The greater part of the habita tions are mere huts made of mats. The immense population ascribed to the city is supposed to have included the Kafiles from Morocco, Ghadame and Nibole, who arrived there in great numbers, and erected temporary huts, when compelled to remain during the rainy season, or till their mer chandise is sold. In this way 10 or 15,000 inhabi tants are apparently added to the population. Its port, called Kabra, about 12 miles to the south of it, was more a collection of storehouses than a town. The Nil or Joliba is there very broad. The trade consists in gold from Jenne, cotton cloths, leather and arms made in Tombuctoo and the surrounding villages. Tombuctoo has a language of its own, of which Captain Lyon has given a vocabulary. Tombuctoo is governed by a king or sultan, who. possesses but little power. The city is about 90 days journey from Mourzouk, and the road thence is through Tuat. Several merchants agree in say ing that the city is not larger than Mourzouk. It is distant from Downes, a large town or district on the Nil (Goulbi or Joliba) one day and a half east.
From these various statements it evidently ap pears that Tombuctoo is a place of ordinary size, and ordinary interest, which the cupidity of mer chants, and the imaginations of travellers have ex alted into the Eldorado of Africa. bistance from the mouth of the Senegal about 1100. East Lon. 1° 20'. North Lat. 17°.
For farther information on this subject, sec Jack son's ilccount of the Empire of .31orocco, Chap. XIII. p. 237. Loud. 1809. Adam's Narrative, London, 1816, and Captain Lyon's Narrative of Travels in North ?frica, p. 144-146, Loud. 1821. See also our articles AFRIC. Vol. 1. p. 185, and Monocco, Vol. XIII. p. 786.