Caillie

Caillie, Rene (1799-1838), a French traveller, born at Mauze, who, losing his parents very early, received no further instruction than some knowledge of reading and writing. Coming by chance upon a copy of Robinson Crusoe, he was so carried away by the yearnings for adventure that at 16 years old he set off for Rochefort with only £3 in his pocket and embarked for Senegal. He there acclimatised himself, and learnt some of the native languages, and then without external aid, and in spite of the unwillingness of the French Governor of Senegal, and the English Governor of Sierra Leone, in 1824 he penetrated into Central Africa, passed through the country of the Foulahs and the Mandingoes, explored the banks of the Niger, and reached Timbuctoo in 1828, returning by way of the Sahara to Morocco. The Geographical Society of Paris awarded him a prize of £400, and Charles X. made him chevalier of the Legion of Honour. His notes and observations have been collected by M. Jomard and published in 1830 under the title Journal d'un Voyage a Tombouctou et a Djenne dans l'Afrique Centrale.