where there is a castle belonging to the knights
of Christ. 40 m. S. by E. of Coimbra and 65 N.
E. of Lisbon.

Tombuctoo, a city of Central Africa, and the
great emporium of the interior trade of that con-
tinent. It is situated in an immense plain of
white sand, having no vegetation but stunted
trees and shrubs, such as the mimosa ferruginea,
which grows no higher than three or four feet.
The city is not closed by any barrier, and may be
entered on any side. It forms a sort of triangle,
about three miles in circuit. The houses are
large but not high, consisting entirely of a ground
floor; they are built of bricks of a round form,
rolled in the hands and baked in the sun. The
streets are clean and sufficiently wide for three
horsemen to pass abreast. Both within and with-
out the town there are many straw huts, which
serve as dwellings for the poor and for the slaves
who sell merchandise for their masters. The ci-
ty contains seven mosques, two of which are
large. The number of inhabitants is stated not
to exceed 12,000, who are all engaged in trade :
but the population is sometimes augmented by
the Arabs, who arrive with the caravans and re-
main a while in the city. In the plain several
species of grass and thistle afford food for the
camels. Fire-wood is very scarce, being all
brought from the neighbourhood of Cabra, and
camel dung forms the only fuel of the poorer
classes. The soil being totally unfit for cultiva-
tion, the inhabitants are obliged to procure from
Jenne every thing requisite for the supply of
their wants, such as millet, rice, vegetable butter,
honey, cotton, Soudan cloth, preserved provisions,
candles, soap, allspice, onions, dried fish, pistachi-
os, &c.; and to prevent immediate famine, in case
the vessels from Cabra should chance to be stop-
ped by the Tooariks, the inhabitants take care to
have their warehouses amply stored with every
kind of provision. Water is also scarce, and is
sold in the market place, where a measure con-
taining about half a pint is procured for a cowrie.
To the W. S. W. of the town there are large ex-
cavations, from 30 to 40 feet deep, for preserving
the rain-water. These reservoirs have no cover-
ing ; and the water, being consequently exposed
to the sun and the hot wind, though tolerably
clear, has a disagreeable taste, and is very hot.
Near the reservoirs are some small plantations of
tobacco, the only plant which is here cultivated,
and which grows no higher than five or six in-
ches, and that, only by dint of watering. All the
native inhabitants of Tombuctoo are zealous Ma-
hometans. Their dress is similar to that of the
Moors. They are represented as gentle and com-
plaisant to strangers, industrious in their habits,
and not wanting in intelligence. The men are
of the ordinary size, generally well made, up-
right, and walk with a graceful step. Their col-
or is a fine des'p black. Their noses are a little
more aquiline .han those of the Mandingoes, and
like them they have thin lips and large eyes. The
women attend to domestic occupations. They
are not veiled, like those, of Morocco, and are al-
lowed to walk out when they please. Those of
the richer class have always a great number of
glass beads about their necks and in their ears.
Like the women of Jenne they wear nose-rings ;
and the female who is not rich enough to procure
a ring substitutes a piece of red silk for it; they
wear silver bracelets, and ancle rings of plated
steel, the latter of which are made in the coun-
try. The female slaves of rich masters have
gold ornaments about their necks, and instead ol
wearing ear-rings, as in the environs of the Sen
egal, they have little plates in the form of a neck
lace. The interior of the dwellings in Tombuc
too, as well as the dress of the inhabitants, is ex-
ceedingly neat. Their domestic articles consist
of calabashes and wooden platters: knives and
forks are unknown here, and the natives imagine
that like them, all people in the world eat with
their fingers. Their furniture consists merely of
mats for sitting on; and their beds are made by
fixing four stakes in the ground at one end of the
room, and stretching over them some mats or a
cow hide. The rich have cotton mattrasses and
coverlets, which the neighbouring Moors manu
facture from camel’s hair and sheep’s wool. The
people are well fed. Their meals, of which they
take two in a day, consist of rice, and couscoui
made of small millet, dressed with meat or drier
fish. Those negroes who are in easy circumstan
ces breakfast on wheaten bread, tea, and butte
made from cows’ milk : those of inferior circum
stances use vegetable butter. Generally speak
ing, the negroes are not so well lodged as thf
Moors ; the latter have great influence over them
and indeed consider themselves far their superi
ors Cloth and other European merchandise,
and salt, are brought to Tombuctoo by caravans
from Barbary; these are exchanged for ivory;
slaves, senna, gold-dust, dates, ostriches’ feathers,
&c., brought from the interior and more mari-
time parts of Africa. This city is subject to a
well-regulated police, and many of the inhabitants
are very rich. Cabra its port, 3 m. N., is a nar-
row town of mud huts, containing about 1,000
inhabitants, who are all employed either in land-
ing the merchandise brought from Jenne, or in
conveying it to Tombuctoo; it has a small
mosque with a minaret, but is a dirty and miser-
able-looking place. Long. 3. 40. WY lat. 17. 50.
N. Such is the discription of the celebrated city
of Tombuctoo, according to the relation of M
Caillie a Frenchman, who visited this city in 1827
and is the only European who ever returned from
it. The veracity of his relation however, is
doubted by many.

Tombig'bee, river, a branch of the Alabama,
rising in the northern part of Mississippi and
flowing S. Easterly till it unites with the Black
Warrior in Alabama. It is navigable by schoon-
ers to St. Stephen’s.

Tomhannock, p.v. Rensselaer Co. N. Y.

Tompkins, acounty of New York. Pop. 36,545
Ithaca is the capital; ph. Delaware Co. N. Y
Pop. 1,774.    _m

Tompkinville, p.v. Monroe Co. Ken.

Tbmina, a province of Buenos Ayres, 72 m.
long and 210 in circuit. The surface is moun
tainous, but the valleys are fertile.

Tomini, a town on the E. coast of the island of
Celebes, on a bay to which it gives name. Long.
110. 0. E., lat. 0. 45. S.

Tomsk, a town of Asiatic Russia, capital of a
province of its name, in the government of To-
bolsk. On the highest part stands a wooden
castle, defended by 14 pieces of cannon; and in
it are a cathedral built of wood, the chancery,
and an-arsenah The inhabitants carry on a great
trade, this town lying on the great road through
all the E. and N. parts of Siberia. Here are all
kinds of artificers and tradesmen, but they are
extremely indolent and slothful. It contains
above 2,000 houses, with 12,000 inhabitants,
and is seated on the river Tom, 560 m, E. by