One after the other, Caillie now passed the fishing village of Gabibi; Tongoon in the Diriman country, a district stretching far away on the east; Codosa, an important commercial town; Barconga, Leleb, Garfolo, Baracondieh, Tircy, Talbocoila, Salacoila, Cora, Coratou, where the Tuaricks exact a toll from passing boats, and finally reached Cabra, built on a height out of reach of the overflowing of the Niger, and serving as the port of Timbuctoo. On the 20th, Caillie disembarked, and started for that city, which he entered at sundown. "I, at last," cries our hero, "saw the capital of the Soudan, which had so long been the goal of my desires. As I entered that mysterious town, an object of curiosity to the civilized nations of Europe, I was filled with indescribable exultation. I never experienced anything like it, and my delight knew no bounds. But I had to moderate my transports, and it was to God alone I confided them. With what earnestness I thanked Him for the success which had crowned my enterprise and the signal protection He had accorded me in so many apparently insurmountable difficulties and perils. My first emotions having subsided, I found that the scene before me by no means came up to my expectations. I had conceived a very different idea of the grandeur and wealth of this town. At first sight it appeared nothing more than a mass of badly-built houses, whilst on every side stretched vast plains of arid, yellowish, shifting sands. The sky was of a dull red colour on the horizon; all nature seemed melancholy; profound silence prevailed, not so much as the song of a bird was heard. And yet there was something indescribably imposing in the sight of a large town rising up in the midst of the sandy desert, and the beholder cannot but admire the indomitable energy of its founders. I fancy the river formerly passed nearer the town of Timbuctoo; it is now eight miles north of it and five of Cabra." [Illustration: View of part of Timbuctoo. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)] Timbuctoo, which is neither so large nor so well populated as Caillie expected, is altogether wanting in animation. There are no large caravans constantly arriving in it, as at Jenneh; nor are there so many strangers there as in the latter town; whilst the market, held at three o'clock in the morning on account of the heat, appears deserted. Timbuctoo is inhabited by Kissour negroes, who seem of mild dispositions, and are employed in trade. There is no government, and strictly speaking no central authority; each town and village has its own chief. The mode of life is patriarchal. A great many Moorish merchants are settled in the town, and rapidly make fortunes there. They receive consignments of merchandise from Adrar, Tafilet, Ghat, Ghadames, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli. To Timbuctoo is brought all the salt of the mines of Toudeyni, packed on camels. It is imported in slabs, bound together by ropes, made from grass in the neighbourhood of Tandayeh.