The Collaborative International Dictionary
Timbuktoo
Timbuctoo \Timbuctoo\, Timbuktoo \Timbuktoo\prop. n.,
A city on the southern edge of the Sahara, in central Africa,
some nine miles from the Niger. It is about three miles
around, and was formerly surrounded by a clay wall. Timbuctoo
has a large caravan trade, gold dust being the most important
export. The people are negroes, Tuariks, Mandingoes, Arabs,
Foolahs, etc. The city was founded in the 12th century, but
was first seen by a white man in 1826. Timbuctoo now belongs
to France, and a railroad is proposed to connect Algiers,
Timbuctoo and Senegambia. Population, 13,000 (1893), greatly
increased during the trading season from November to January.
--Student's Cyclopedia, 1897.