Travels through Central Africa to Timbuctoo; and across the Great Desert, to Morocco, performed in the years 1824-1828, Vol. 1 (of 2)

A French traveler records an extended overland expedition from the Atlantic coast deep into central West Africa, tracing rivers and caravan routes to a major Sahelian trading city and then crossing the desert toward North Africa. The narrative combines day-to-day travel details—routes, markets, caravan organization, river navigation, and hardships such as illness—with close observations of local societies: cultivation, crafts, religious practices, commerce in gold, gum, and slaves, and political and economic structures. Chapters describe towns, rivers, schools, and festivals, and offer practical geographic and ethnographic information gathered during prolonged stays and perilous crossings.