iv 
by means of his own slender unassisted resources ; and they have 
certainly a right to boast that M. Cailli^, the author of the work 
here presented to the public, is the first European who has suc- 
ceeded in the attempt to penetrate to Timbuctoo, and returned, in 
spite of the perils interposed by the climate and by the still more 
destructive passions of men, to communicate all the information 
that circumstances enabled him to collect. 
Of the importance of this information the adjudication of a 
premium of 10,000 francs (upwards of £400 sterling) by the Geo- 
graphical Society of Paris to the traveller, affords presumptive 
evidence. When it is considered that, pursuing his course east- 
ward from the French colony on the Senegal, he advanced by 
way of Kakondy, Kankan, and Timbo, to the distance of two 
hundred miles beyond Soulimana ; that he then proceeded north- 
ward through more than one hundred villages to Jenne ; that, 
there embarking on the great river Dhioliba (the Joliba of Mungo 
Park) he enjoyed the best opportunities for observing its course, 
its islands, and the extensive lake of Debo, which has afforded 
matter for so much discussion, during a voyage of nearly a 
month to Timbuctoo ; that he has furnished positive information 
of high political and commercial interest respecting that city ; and 
that he has proved the practicability of reaching it from the coast of 
the Mediterranean by traversing the great Desert which girdles 
Africa, and through which he returned to the territories of 
Morocco : — when all this is considered, it must be admitted that 
his merits have not by any means been overrated. 
In this country also, which has long taken the lead in the 
encouragement of geographical discovery, it is fair to presume 
that the work in which M. Caillie has recorded, in language of 
unaffected simplicity, the observations made in a journey of 4500 
miles, (of which 3000 were through regions either absolutely, or 
nearly unknown), cannot but possess powerful attractions for every 
class of readers, whether pursuing the career of trade, of science, 
or of politics, whether in quest of individual advantage or per- 
sonal information. 
