2:00

Kaye now had to find a caravan heading

2:02

east into the interior of Africa and towards

2:04

Timbuktu. For this he got

2:06

to know other groups including the Mandinka or

2:08

Mandingo people. The Mandinka are

2:11

a West African ethnic group primarily found

2:13

in Southern Mali, the Gambia, Southern Senegal

2:15

and Eastern Guinea. They are mostly Muslim

2:17

and they are also at this time

2:19

some of the great traders of Africa

2:21

and Kaye looked to them to find

2:23

his caravan. When Kaye's travels

2:25

to Timbuktu it will be the Mandinka that

2:27

he will be traveling with. Kaye

2:30

got to know the Mandinka, their customs and practices

2:32

and they got to know him and respected that

2:34

he was a Muslim and that he wanted to

2:36

return to the land of his birth. Kaye

2:39

would ultimately hook up with a caravan

2:41

which consisted of five Mandinka, a full-out

2:43

porter, three slaves and a guide and

2:45

his wife. Everyone carried packs

2:48

except the caravan's guide who was named

2:50

Ibrahim and his wife as well as

2:52

Kaye. Kaye had paid Ibrahim to

2:54

have someone carry his pack. The

2:56

caravan departed on April 19th, 1827 heading southeast from the

2:58

Rio Nunez. Going

3:02

forward Kaye will travel on well-established roads

3:05

and trails. These were routes that were

3:07

a thousand years old. Along the way

3:09

they would pass other travelers and caravans. Many

3:12

of these caravans used slaves, men hauling 100

3:14

pound packs of salt or tobacco or whatever

3:16

in the hot African sun. History

3:19

was deeply ingrained in much of West Africa

3:21

and the slave trade with the Americas had

3:23

made it even more entrenched and profitable. The

3:26

area surrounding Kaye went from fertile agricultural

3:29

lands to hills and then mountains. These

3:31

were not big mountains but still challenging as the men

3:33

and women had to go up and down and up

3:36

and down over and over. The streams

3:38

in the hills and mountains at least offered Kaye the

3:40

opportunity to wash his clothing and take a bath. Most

3:43

nights the caravan would stay in a village which

3:45

typically numbered between three and five hundred people. Each

3:48

village generally had a water source and

3:50

food such as yams, cassava, rice, bananas,

3:53

plums and vegetables. And Kaye

3:55

always showed interest when the food was different.

3:57

This included rolls and bread loaves made from

3:59

pistachios. nuts mixed with corn and sweetened

4:01

with honey. And there were rice flour

4:03

cakes baked in the sun with honey and allspice.

4:06

Meat was not common but if it was available

4:08

it was usually chicken. At

4:10

night the Caravan's members often slept in a hut

4:13

but when nothing was available they passed the nights

4:15

under the stars. It was at night

4:17

when alone that Caiu would write his notes. These

4:19

would form the basis for his book on his

4:21

journey and they are incredibly detailed. The

4:23

two-volume English language version of his story

4:26

is a thousand pages long. Caiu

4:28

is a meticulous and keen observer although

4:30

not the most exciting storyteller. His

4:33

descriptions of the people and places he encounters are

4:35

some of the finest we have from this time.

4:38

As on his previous travels Caiu always had

4:40

some pages of the Qur'an written in Arabic

4:42

which he would show to people if questioned

4:44

what he was doing. This would deflect concerns

4:46

many would have about Caiu that he was

4:48

a Christian spy. And let's

4:50

be clear people wondered about the man. Many people

4:52

had never seen a white man in their lives.

4:54

He was a curiosity and people came out to

4:57

see him. This made it hard to keep a

4:59

low profile. At every stop he and

5:01

his guide would have to explain his backstory. This

5:03

was mostly met with approval from the local

5:05

people. Another thing despite

5:08

his attempts to appear as a poor

5:10

traveler people suspected he had valuable stuff

5:12

with him including his fellow travelers. Caiu

5:14

did his best to appear poor but over time

5:16

they figured out he had some nice stuff. This

5:19

includes some gold and silver as well

5:21

as gunpowder, silk, cloth, medicines and calorie

5:23

shells. The latter were used in this

5:25

part of Africa as a form of currency. Caiu

5:28

and his caravan crossed the mountain chain on April

5:30

27th, 40 many streams and even

5:32

a fast flowing river. At the

5:35

latter the Pongo River the water was waist deep

5:37

and the strong current pulled Caiu down the river

5:39

getting him soaked. Also

5:41

May would mark the beginning of the rainy

5:43

season. Caiu would keep moving east but he

5:45

knew that eventually he would have to hunker

5:48

down for a while as the roads would

5:50

become impassable due to torrential rains. On

5:53

May 8th the caravan crossed the Baffin River

5:55

a tributary of the Senegal River. This

5:57

meant the caravan was in the kingdom of Faltujalam.

6:00

which was immersed in a civil war. The

6:02

caravan quickly moved through these lands to avoid

6:04

becoming involved in the fighting. They

6:07

arrived at the village of Kambaya on May

6:09

11th. The caravan's guide, Ibrahim, was from the

6:11

village and his father was the chief. The

6:14

father was blind and at least 80 years old. In

6:17

Kambaya, Calle was forced to find a new guide.

6:20

Ibrahim needed to attend to his family's plantations

6:22

and wasn't heading east for a number of

6:24

weeks. This was an unfortunate turn

6:26

of events as Calle didn't want to delay and

6:29

get caught there during the rainy season. He

6:31

could have feasibly hired a guide, some porters, and

6:33

horses, but that would reveal that he had valuables

6:36

with him. He needed to fly under the radar.

6:38

Calle would write, quote, the success of

6:41

my undertaking depended on this appearance of

6:43

poverty, end quote. While

6:45

Calle waited for a caravan heading east, he

6:47

provided a detailed look at the life in

6:49

an African village which was made up of

6:52

fulas and mandinkas. The fulas were

6:54

more prosperous and more warlike. They sometimes

6:56

had muskets and sabers, but were usually

6:58

armed with bows, arrows, and lances. As

7:01

always, the people of the village were fascinated

7:03

by Calle's white skin. Inward spread that he

7:05

had healing skills, so people came to him

7:07

asking for his assistance. He would

7:09

help them when he could, but tried to avoid using

7:12

up his valuable medical supplies. One

7:14

thing people often asked for were magical

7:16

charms called grigri. And Calle would

7:18

oblige them when he could. This was often

7:20

as simple as him writing out on a piece

7:22

of paper a prayer in Arabic. These charms were

7:25

often asking for things such as good health or

7:27

wealth or protection from evil. The

7:29

receiver of the blessing would often fold up the paper, then

7:31

wrap it up in some sort of cloth or place it

7:33

in a small object and wear it around their neck. By

7:37

the end of May, Calle was ready to

7:39

move out again. This time it was with

7:41

a caravan heading east for can-can, led by

7:43

a man named Laffia, who was recommended by

7:45

Ibrahim. For his services,

7:47

Calle gave Ibrahim some guinea cloth,

7:49

gunpowder, paper, scissors, and a silk

7:51

handkerchief. Ibrahim told

7:53

Laffia that Calle was a Sharif, a

7:56

descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. This bestowed

7:58

a level of awe and respect on

8:00

Calle. The plan was to go east to

8:02

Cancan and then to Bure. The latter was an

8:04

area famous for its gold production. L'Amfier

8:07

agreed to take Caille in exchange for four

8:09

yards of guinea cloth. The

8:11

caravan departed on May 30, 1827. Caille

8:15

had come to know the people of the village

8:17

well, saying, quote, I took leave of my friends,

8:19

at least such friends as a white can have

8:21

among Negroes, end quote. The men

8:23

think of these parts for the most part treated Caille

8:25

well. These were often the poorest people,

8:27

yet he found they were often the most hospitable. Any

8:30

appreciated that they respected the elderly. The

8:33

new caravan, carrying mostly colon nuts, consisted

8:35

of eight people, including L'Amfier's wife who

8:37

carried a pack on her head. She

8:40

also cooked and cleaned. Other merchants

8:42

would join them shortly after they set out and

8:44

their caravan would grow. The

8:47

next couple of weeks featured a similar story. The

8:49

caravan set out each morning. At each village they

8:51

were forced to pay a toll. These

8:53

villages were often made of earthen walls, 10 to

8:56

12 feet high or three to four meters. With

8:58

his white skin, Caille was often a subject

9:01

of speculation. Some people were

9:03

suspicious of him and his motives. Others were in

9:05

wonder of his compelling story as an Arab trying

9:07

to return to the land of his birth. Also,

9:11

it was in early June that Caille began

9:13

to have problems with his foot. It

9:15

was sore and ache constantly. It was a problem

9:17

that would dog him for months. On

9:19

June 11, the caravan came to the village

9:22

of Corusa on the banks of the Niger River.

9:24

This would have been a major milestone for Caille.

9:27

The Niger had only been reached by a European

9:29

about 30 years earlier. That

9:31

person had been Mongol Park who was an

9:33

inspiration to Caille. Corusa is

9:35

near the upstream limit of the navigation of the

9:37

Niger. This made it an important trading center. Now

9:41

you may ask, could Caille hop on a boat

9:43

and sail down the Niger to Timbuktu? And

9:45

the answer was, technically yes. But

9:48

realistically, no. And there are a few

9:50

reasons for this. First, the Niger

9:52

had too many settlements where Caille's disguise

9:54

could potentially be uncovered. He wanted to

9:56

stay off the beaten path. Second,

9:58

there was a war going on between Sagu and

10:01

Gen. Sagu was a major port on

10:03

the Niger River while Gen was on a tributary of

10:05

the Niger, roughly 120 miles to the east. Kye

10:08

wanted to avoid that conflict. His

10:11

plan was to approach Gen from the

10:13

southeast and follow that tributary to Timbuktu.

10:16

This would mostly avoid the war between the two

10:18

cities. And third, beyond

10:20

the fighting around Sagu, the Niger was

10:22

notorious for bandits. Tribes would

10:24

prey on rivergoers. Mongol Park and

10:26

others had described the process of having to travel

10:28

down the river and it was dangerous, for

10:31

an outsider to attempt to do so would

10:33

require a guide and protector which he did

10:35

not have or knew how to obtain. From

10:38

Caruso, the caravan continued east overland towards

10:40

Kancan on the Milo River, a tributary

10:43

of the Niger. They were

10:45

moving roughly parallel with the Niger. The

10:47

caravan now consisted of about 60 to 80

10:49

people that number fluctuated as they went along.

10:53

As for Kye, he was now dogged by headaches as

10:55

well as his sore foot, and the

10:57

summer heat was brutal. His caravan

10:59

reached Kancan on June 17th. He

11:01

would stay there for a month due to heavy rains.

11:05

Kye could have headed north at this point into

11:07

the area of Bouret, but he was warned not

11:09

to do so as various groups were warring over

11:11

the region, which was rich in gold. He

11:14

would heed this advice and wait for the rains to

11:16

ease up and find a spot with a caravan heading

11:18

east. In Kancan, Kye

11:21

would find himself running low on various

11:23

items. He was down mostly to silk

11:25

hankies, glass beads, amber, and cowrie shells,

11:27

plus his stash of gold and silver.

11:30

The glass beads and the cowrie shells were

11:32

used to obtain basic items at the city's

11:34

market which operated twice a week. Kye

11:37

found the markets of great interest. He'd

11:39

get himself food, including chickens. He also

11:41

saw European goods, such as muskets. He

11:44

even saw tattered red jackets, the uniforms

11:47

of British soldiers, available for purchase. He

11:49

did not speculate how they got there. There

11:52

were also many slaves for sale, each costing

11:54

25 pounds of gunpowder or 4 yards of

11:56

silk. Kye's time in

11:58

Kancan was helped along the way. an

12:00

old moor named Muhammad, who was his

12:03

neighbor. Cayet said the man had, quote,

12:05

shown me much kindness during my residence

12:07

in Kankan, end quote. The

12:09

two ate together most nights. Cayet

12:12

would eventually join a caravan heading east

12:14

toward Samba Tekila. From there it would

12:16

be Antuszain. The caravan, which numbered

12:18

14 people, departed on July 16, 1827. The guide was

12:20

a man named

12:23

Arafamba. Cayet's Moorish friend, Muhammad, came

12:25

to see him off. The

12:28

journey to Samba Tekila took twelve days and

12:30

was marred by heavy rains and threats from

12:32

bandits. Cayet said the woods were

12:35

full of robbers, and he and his traveling

12:37

companions feared garnering their attention. He

12:39

wrote, quote, We sat down under the

12:41

trees, with rain pouring upon our backs,

12:43

and not daring to cough or clear

12:45

our throats, for fear we would bring

12:47

robbers upon us. We were silent and

12:50

sad, end quote. Other

12:52

times the roads were so covered in rain they

12:54

had to plod forward in their bare feet, or

12:56

not at all. When the

12:58

weather cooperated, they pressed on, buying yams and

13:00

other goods from the workers in the fields.

13:03

And Cayet found the variety and quality

13:05

of the crops to be impressive. He

13:07

wrote, quote, I was astonished to find

13:09

agriculture in such a state of advancement

13:12

in the interior of Africa, their land

13:14

is as carefully cultivated as ours, end

13:16

quote. The caravan reached

13:18

Samba Tekila, located on the Bole River on

13:20

June 28. Cayet gave his guide, Arafonba,

13:23

some cloth, paper, and a pair of

13:25

scissors as payment for his services. He

13:27

praised the man, saying he was, quote,

13:30

the most amiable and agreeable Mandingo I

13:32

had ever seen, end quote. The

13:34

next leg of Cayet's journey was to Timah,

13:37

again continuing to push east through a region

13:39

called the Kong Highlands. His new

13:41

guide's name was Baba. They reached the village

13:43

in early August. The rains were

13:45

so heavy, moving forward was impossible. And

13:48

it was in Timah that four months of travel

13:50

and hard living would catch up to Cayet. He

13:52

came down with a fever and had a big

13:54

sore on his foot that wouldn't go away. And

13:56

by the end of August, another sore appeared on

13:58

his other foot, larger than the other foot. the

14:00

first. The pain was awful and Cae could no

14:02

longer walk. Add in fevers

14:04

and headaches and he was miserable. He had some

14:07

quinine which helped with his fever, but the feet

14:09

were in bad shape. A local

14:11

woman used tree leaves to make a wrap and

14:13

that helped with the inflammation within a couple of

14:15

days, but Cae would ultimately spend a month in

14:18

a hut unable to walk. His

14:20

guide's mother, an old woman named Man-Man,

14:22

attended Cae wrapping and cleaning his feet

14:24

and making him meals. He would

14:27

give her glass beads to purchase food, which

14:29

he said was not very good. It needed

14:31

salt for seasoning, but that was hard to

14:33

come by and expensive. Cae was lucky to

14:35

eat one meal a day and he appreciated

14:37

even the bad meals, writing, quote, hunger is

14:39

sauce to all sorts of food, end quote.

14:42

For her service, Cae would give Man-Man a long

14:44

piece of colored cloth, which thrilled her. He said

14:46

she had probably never had anything like it in

14:48

all of her life. People

14:51

would visit Cae during his time in Timah,

14:53

asking for Grigri, the magical amulets, or gifts,

14:55

or just wanting to talk about the outside

14:57

world. Meanwhile, the rains abated

14:59

at least a bit. There was still rain

15:01

every day, even through October. It was then

15:04

that the rains finally eased up. By

15:06

early November, Cae's foot was almost healed

15:08

and then something else reared its head,

15:11

scurvy. Cae's mouth became sore, his teeth

15:13

loosened, he had headaches, he could not

15:15

sleep and was wracked by violent pains.

15:17

To top it off, the sores on

15:19

his feet broke out again. Cae

15:21

turned to his guide, Baba, who brought him a healer.

15:24

The old woman recognized the symptoms and attended to

15:26

him. She mixed pieces of wood and other items

15:29

in water and made him wash out his mouth.

15:31

Slowly Cae got better. I'm

15:34

guessing whatever she gave him had trace amounts

15:36

of vitamin C, which is critical to avoiding

15:38

scurvy. By mid-December, Cae

15:40

could walk again, albeit supported by a

15:43

walking stick, and the scurvy was gone.

15:45

His appetite and strength returned. Cae

15:47

was now able to focus on the next step in

15:49

his journey. This would be northwest,

15:52

towards Cen, a key city in the region

15:54

that had never been visited before by a

15:56

European. Cae learned the journey would take

15:58

about two months. He would

16:00

ultimately spend five months in Tima, waiting out

16:02

the heavy rains and recovering from his health

16:04

issues. He departed the village on January 9, 1828.

16:08

He went with a caravan heading

16:10

northeast, his guide Keremu Osla, the brother of

16:12

his former guide, Baba. The

16:14

next major step on his trek north was the

16:17

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16:35

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17:51

Rene Kaye was back on the move after being

17:53

laid up for five months. It was January of

17:55

1828. His caravan

17:57

marched north, going parallel with the Niger River.

18:00

The route featured a series of villages along the way.

18:03

Kye's caravan consisted of about 40 to 50 Mandinka men,

18:05

35 women, each carrying a load on

18:09

their head, and 8 chiefs leading donkeys.

18:11

There are also numerous slaves. By

18:14

the way, in his book, Kye takes

18:16

time at this point to write a

18:18

long description about the Mandinka people. He

18:20

is incredibly detailed. He describes their physical

18:22

characteristics, their social status, their roles as

18:24

the great traders of West Africa, and

18:26

their customs. This includes things such

18:29

as marriages and funerals, and even the practice

18:31

of circumcision. As I said earlier,

18:33

Kye would have made a pretty good ethnologist. The

18:36

caravan would grow as they plodded north, people looking

18:38

to take their goods to the markets in Timbuktu

18:40

and Jen. Kye was still

18:43

weak from his illness and walking was difficult, but

18:45

he pressed on. At each

18:47

village, there was a tax for the caravan

18:49

to pay, officials carefully counting the loads to

18:51

assess their fees, which were usually paid with

18:53

cowrie shells or kola nuts. Kye

18:56

remained a strange sight to most of the people, many

18:58

of whom had never seen a white man. And

19:00

people challenged him and his story. Kye

19:03

was convinced that his disguise saved his life on

19:05

more than one occasion. To a cost

19:07

a good Muslim was just something people were afraid

19:09

of doing, especially one with his unique story. For

19:12

the next two months, Kye and his caravan

19:14

would go from one village to the next,

19:16

heading towards Jen. Here are some highlights

19:19

and fun facts from that journey. Kye's

19:21

observational skills and his curiosity would always

19:24

be up and running. He takes note

19:26

of the tobacco fields, the cotton plantations,

19:28

and the endless caravans they encountered. I

19:31

love how he sees the white differences of the people

19:33

he encounters. There's obvious things such

19:35

as religion, but he notices the slight

19:37

nuances in physical features, the preparation of

19:39

food, or a thousand other little things.

19:41

He finds some of these people to

19:44

be humane and kind, some cheerful and

19:46

friendly, others are cynical and greedy. They

19:48

are people. One thing

19:50

about the natives is there were some changes as

19:52

they neared Jen. People were better

19:55

dressed and equipped. It was not uncommon anymore

19:57

to see Moors making Kye less of an

19:59

object of color. curiosity. It helped that Cae

20:01

was now deeply tanned and weathered from his

20:03

time on the road, which helped him blend

20:06

in better. This didn't

20:08

alleviate Cae's concerns about being unveiled

20:10

as a European. Example

20:12

on February 11th he was caught making

20:14

observations with his compass, something he avoided

20:16

doing in front of others. Because of

20:18

this he was accused of sorcery. Cae

20:21

replied by saying that he was making

20:23

an amulet, a gregri, to safeguard against

20:25

illness. His guide supported him. The

20:27

funny thing is that his accusers would then

20:30

ask Cae to provide them with their own

20:32

amulets, which he did to avoid any issues.

20:35

Two culinary notes about Cae's journey at this

20:37

time. At one village he bought some yams

20:40

and sauce from a woman. As

20:42

he ate it he noticed that there were tiny

20:44

little feet in the sauce, mice feet. It seems

20:46

the village made lots of mice sauce. The women

20:48

and children would catch the mice, burn off the

20:50

fur, then toss the mice into a pot and

20:52

mash them up. It sounds yucky

20:54

but Cae ate it more than once. The

20:58

second item was regarding the local beer. He

21:00

would write, quote, There are people in this

21:02

country who make beer and sell it retail.

21:04

I had a great wish to taste it,

21:06

but my character of a Muslim rendered that

21:08

impossible. End quote. It was like finding a

21:10

brew pub after nearly a year without a

21:13

beer and not being able to have a

21:15

taste. Such sadness. Those culinary

21:17

curiosities aside, there were two major challenges for

21:19

Cae on his trek to Jen. The first

21:21

was his health. He had a cold and

21:24

a cough and began to spit up blood.

21:26

The second was a change in plans for his caravan.

21:29

As the caravan headed north,

21:31

a decision was made to go to the

21:33

city of San Sending on the Niger about

21:35

20 miles down river from Seigu. This made

21:37

Cae very uncomfortable. He didn't want to get

21:39

caught up in the war between Jen and

21:41

Seigu. The reason for the change

21:43

was it was said that the prices for

21:46

kola nuts, the caravan's primary trade goods, were

21:48

rock bottom in Jen. The market, it was

21:50

hoped, was better in San Sending. This

21:52

left Cae with a dilemma as he wanted to

21:54

avoid the area of the Niger River at this

21:57

time. He thus turned to an old man named

21:59

Cimon who had been with the caravan since Timah,

22:01

and who Kaiei knew was going to Jen. A

22:04

deal was struck. Kaiei would give Kaiman a

22:06

pair of scissors, some paper and cloth, and

22:08

in exchange, he would guide him to Jen.

22:11

Problem solved. Kaiei and

22:13

his guide would thus go northeast, passing through

22:15

various villages, crossing many streams, as well as

22:17

a few rivers. Kaiei would use

22:19

his dwindling supply of trade goods to get food

22:22

and pay for someone to carry his pack. And

22:25

then on March 11th, Kaiei reached Jen, near

22:27

the Bani River, a tributary of the Niger.

22:30

Kaiei, by the way, thought the Bani was actually

22:32

the Niger, but he was incorrect. Anyhow,

22:34

Jen was at this time a city of about eight

22:36

to 10,000 people. Kaiei

22:39

said the city itself was about two and

22:41

a half miles in circumference, with 10 foot

22:43

high earthen walls. It rested on an island.

22:45

Only Muslims were allowed in the city. The

22:48

city was a bustling one, despite the ongoing

22:50

war with Seigu. Here, Kaiei

22:52

found smiths, tailors, masons, and cobblers.

22:54

There were fishermen, porters, merchants, and

22:56

traders. You could hear the languages

22:58

of the Mandinkas, the Fulas, the

23:00

Bambars, and the Moors. The

23:03

locals mostly spoke Songhei, which was the

23:05

language also spoken in Timbuktu. The

23:08

elites of the city were the Moorish merchants, and they

23:10

occupied the finest homes. A group of 30 to 40

23:12

of them controlled most of the

23:14

city's trade. In the city's

23:16

great markets, one could get luxury goods, such

23:18

as tea and sugar, and there was meat,

23:20

salt, and European goods. Kaiei

23:23

also saw the slave trade on a

23:25

large scale, which dismayed him, writing, quote,

23:27

I was grieved to see such an

23:29

insult offered to human nature, end quote.

23:32

Upon arriving in Jen, Kaiei visited the city's

23:34

mosque, structures he had not seen in the

23:36

smaller villages. He prayed accordingly, wanting

23:38

to make sure everyone knew he was a good Muslim.

23:41

The day after arriving, he was introduced

23:43

to a rich and powerful Moor named

23:45

Sidi Ulad Marmo, who was also a sha'rif,

23:47

meaning a descendant of the Prophet. Kaiei

23:50

was then grilled with a thousand questions. He

23:53

was forced to expand his backstory, as he was asked

23:55

why he wanted to return to the Middle East. Had

23:57

he been a slave in Europe, why was he taking

23:59

this route? Calle replied by saying

24:01

that he had been taken from Egypt to

24:03

France and that he had never let go

24:05

of his Islamic faith. He had thus departed Europe

24:08

for North Africa to be instructed in the

24:10

ways of Islam. And he wanted to return

24:12

home, which he said was Alexandria, where he hoped

24:14

to find his father and brother. Calle's

24:16

answers pleased the Moors, and he was told he would

24:19

be taken care of while in the city. He

24:21

was given food and shelter, and a barber came

24:23

and shaved his head. A man named Haji Muhammad

24:25

would be his contact and help him out while

24:27

in the city. Calle now

24:30

had three things to do. First, he

24:32

needed to rest, eat some decent food, and

24:34

recover. Here he would get that. Second,

24:37

he needed money. He had some glass beads,

24:39

a little cloth, some amber and cowrie shells.

24:41

He made sure to hide his gold, silver,

24:43

and paper. These were precious and would be

24:46

needed to continue his journey. As

24:48

for the other items, Calle turned to Haji Muhammad,

24:50

who bought most of the goods at a discounted

24:53

rate. The value of it all came to 30,000 calories. As

24:55

a reference,

24:57

Calle said that a single glass bead was

24:59

worth 30 calories. One Frank equaled 200

25:01

calories. Calle

25:03

knew that he wasn't getting the greatest

25:05

deal, but he wasn't keen to negotiate

25:07

with unknown people. And he appreciated the

25:09

hospitality and safety Haji Muhammad and his

25:12

boss offered. They also gave Calle new

25:14

garments as what he was wearing was

25:16

in tatters. Calle would

25:18

convert what he had sold mostly into cloth,

25:20

which he was told would sell for a

25:22

good price in Timbuktu. He also kept a

25:24

supply of cowrie shells to cover minor transactions.

25:26

He also had his paper and precious metals.

25:30

By the way, Calle would give his umbrella

25:32

to his host, city, Ulad Marmo, who was

25:34

thrilled at the gift. Calle had shown the

25:36

umbrella to his host in their initial meeting

25:38

and Ulad Marmo had been fascinated by the

25:40

item. This helped ensure Calle departed in the

25:42

good graces of his host. And

25:45

the third day Calle needed to do was

25:47

arrange transport to the north to Timbuktu. For

25:50

this, his host got him a spot on a

25:52

boat heading down river. It would take him all

25:54

the way to Timbuktu. Calle's host

25:56

would give the owner of the boat a man

25:58

named Sidi Mubarak and let him go. letter to

26:00

be passed on to a colleague in Timbuktu. This

26:02

man would be able to help Kye. Those

26:05

would also pay the owner of the boat 300 calories

26:07

to make sure Kye was taken care

26:09

of on the journey to Timbuktu. Now

26:12

one thing Kye learned about while in

26:14

Jain was the fate of Major Alexander

26:16

Gordon Lang, the Scotsman who had been

26:18

trying to reach Timbuktu since 1825. Well,

26:21

Lang had died in September of 1826.

26:23

He had reached Timbuktu but he

26:26

had been murdered by his guides shortly after

26:28

departing the city. Kye mourned

26:30

Lang who he hailed as a brave man

26:32

but now he knew the prize for reaching

26:34

and returning from Timbuktu was still there for

26:36

the taking. I also

26:39

want to point out that by reaching Jain

26:41

Kye was doing something rather amazing. No European

26:43

had ever been to the city. Big feather

26:45

in his cap for that. In

26:47

his book Kye would provide a detailed description

26:49

of the city. Kye

26:51

left Jain on March 23rd 1827 traveling in a boat transporting

26:56

merchandise down the river. Two

26:58

days later at the village of Kuna he and

27:00

the cargo were transferred to a larger vessel. They

27:02

then continued down the Bani River which joins the

27:04

Niger after a 70 mile or 150 kilometer stretch.

27:06

The Bani

27:09

merged with the Niger at the village of Mapati.

27:12

By taking this route to Jain and heading

27:14

down the Bani to the Niger Kye had

27:16

avoided the war between Jain and Seigu. And

27:19

soon Kye was part of a great flotillo

27:21

boats heading down the river toward Timbuktu. These

27:24

boats which numbered between 60 and 80 were heavily

27:26

loaded with goods including rice, millet,

27:28

cotton, honey, butter, onions, cola nuts,

27:31

and much more. They traveled together

27:33

for safety as individual boats were

27:35

easy targets for river bandits. The

27:37

boats were of various sizes but they could be up to

27:39

100 feet long and a dozen wide. They could haul up

27:41

to 100 tons of cargo although

27:43

60 to 80 tons was more common.

27:46

They had no sails and were powered by

27:48

ores and poles. Despite their large size they

27:51

were fragile. Heavy winds were especially dangerous. More

27:54

than one boat in the flotilla would break up

27:56

after striking a sandbar. Each of

27:58

the boats was manned by 12 to 18 sailors,

28:00

many of these slaves, a pair of

28:02

steersmen, and a captain. As

28:04

for Caiye, the voyage was pretty miserable. His

28:07

boat was filled with bandinkas who he struggled to

28:09

speak with and he was basically treated no better

28:11

than the slaves. It would ultimately have to

28:13

pay the captain 1,000 calories to

28:16

get him some decent food and accommodations. It

28:19

didn't help that Caiye fought a variety

28:21

of illnesses including fevers and headaches and

28:23

the monotonous planes surrounding the Niger offered

28:25

little distraction. Things would get

28:27

worse as the flotilla near Timbuktu. That's

28:30

when wandering tribes would block ships

28:32

heading downriver demanding payment to continue.

28:35

This often meant handing over a bag of rice or

28:37

some cowrie shells. A big

28:39

problem for Caiye was that light-skinned people

28:41

were thought of as moors and thus

28:43

wealthy. If he was seen, the price

28:45

to continue onward would skyrocket. Because

28:47

of this, Caiye was often forced to hide below

28:49

deck. The flotilla would

28:52

press onward. They passed through the

28:54

Ibo, a large lake formed by the seasonal

28:56

flooding of the Niger River Basin. This lake,

28:58

called the Great Lake, was known to Europeans

29:00

from as early as the first millennium BC

29:02

when it was described by Ptolemy. Caiye

29:05

describes his journey in detail talking about the

29:08

boats, the river, and the people. He noted

29:10

the massive hippos in the alligators and the

29:12

great flocks of birds. On

29:14

April 19, 1828, after nearly

29:17

a month on the river, Caiye's flotilla boats

29:19

arrived at the port of Kebara. Caiye was

29:21

almost to his destination. Timbuktu was about five

29:23

miles to the north of the river and

29:25

Kebara, a city of about a thousand people,

29:28

acted as its port. The

29:30

owner of Caiye's boat would take him

29:32

to Amur, Sidi Abdallah Chibi. This was

29:34

the man Caiye had been referred to

29:36

by the Sharif back in Jen. This

29:38

man was described as extremely pious but

29:41

helpful. The next day Caiye would

29:43

be led north. As evening approached,

29:45

he would see Timbuktu for the first

29:47

time. He wrote, quote, I saw

29:49

the capital of the Sudan, to reach which it so

29:51

long been the object of my wishes. Unentering

29:54

this mysterious city, which is an object

29:56

of curiosity and research, to the civilized

29:58

nations of Europe, I They experienced

30:00

an indescribable satisfaction. I

30:03

never before felt a similar emotion." And

30:06

so Rene Caille had done it. He had

30:08

started almost exactly one year before in the

30:11

village of Kukkondi and trekked through the African

30:13

backcountry and on a boat down the Niger.

30:15

As for distance, I couldn't find the exact numbers but

30:18

we were talking about something like a thousand miles on

30:20

foot and another 400 on the water. That's

30:23

pretty amazing. But you know

30:25

what? Caille was only halfway done. He now

30:27

had to get home. And that story

30:29

will be for our next episode when we talk

30:31

about the man's time in Timbuktu and

30:33

then his journey across the Sahara Desert to the

30:36

north. It will be a short little

30:38

jaunt of more than 1500 miles or 2400 kilometers to

30:40

the Mediterranean. So

30:43

that is it for today. I hope you've enjoyed our story

30:45

thus far. Please join us next time

30:47

as we continue the story of Rene Caille and

30:49

the quest for Timbuktu. Thank you

30:51

for listening. The

30:54

Explorers podcast is part of the Airwave

30:56

Media Network. Go to airwavemedia.com for other

30:58

great shows including a history of the

31:00

world in spy objects and big picture

31:02

science.