Travels through Central Africa to Timbuctoo; and across the Great Desert, to Morocco, performed in the years 1824-1828, Vol. 1 (of 2)Caillié, René
History
Travels through Central Africa to Timbuctoo; and across the Great Desert, to Morocco, performed in the years 1824-1828, Vol. 1 (of 2)
Caillié, René
Sahara -- Description and travel; Sudan (Region) -- Description and travel
In the morning of the 25th of May, after giving some cream of tartar
to a negro, who had teazed me for several days with applications for
medicine, I went with Ibrahim to see a bridge that was building over
the Tankisso. On the road, I saw some Mandingoes beating the great
drum, of which I have already spoken, to summon the labourers to
their work. When we arrived at the bridge, I observed six or eight men
lying by the side of the water, waiting for the arrival of others. I
was informed that in the rainy season the water rises to the height
of twenty-five or thirty feet. The branches which bar the passage
are covered by this extraordinary swell, and I was assured that the
bridge is often demolished and carried away by the current. The stream
inundates the plain, from which a harvest of foigné is gathered before
the rice is sown. All the workmen having arrived, they set about their
labours singing. They were very gay and seemed to amuse themselves
much, for it was a party of pleasure to them. All the inhabitants of
Cambaya, being sensible of the necessity of the bridge, had resolved
to assist in the labour. The bridge was about forty or forty-five
feet long, six or seven feet broad. It was formed by driving a number
of thick poles close together in the middle of the stream, to which
were attached cross-pieces of timber, and these in many places were
supported by branches of trees which overhung the stream. On the
traverses pieces of plank, firmly bound together by lianes, a very
flexible kind of wood, were laid lengthwise. Pieces of wood were
then laid on crosswise at the distance of a pace from each other,
to afford a secure footing to passengers over this unsteady bridge. I
was assured that if it were not supported by branches of trees it could
not resist the rapidity of the current. It was finished in a few days,
for there was abundance of workmen. The whole population of Cambaya
contributed to forward the work. Several women brought calabashes
of rice and foigné to their husbands for dinner. I was invited to
partake, and, having all sat down without distinction in a circle,
every one helped himself. We then returned merrily to the village.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account