Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/786

 756 TIMOLEON TIMOR Timbuctoo is the central station of northern Africa. Gold dust is the great article of trade, but many native products and foreign manufac- tures are also found here. The merchants of Timbuctoo are generally only agents of those at Mogadore, Morocco, Fez, and other places in northern Africa ; and this, with the incessant conflicts of race and religion, prevents the ac- cumulation of wealth. The inhabitants are a mixed population of indigenous negroes, Tua- riks, Bambarras, Mandingos, Arabs, and Foo- lahs, the governing race. The city dates from the 12th century, but it was long known in Eu- rope only by reports of native travellers, until it was first reached by Major Laing in 1826, and furtively visited by Caillie in 1828. In 1853-'4 Dr. Earth resided there nearly a year. TOIOLEON, a Corinthian general, liberator of Syracuse, born about 395 B. 0., died in 337. He was early noted for his patriotism and cour- age, and in his hatred of tyranny he brought about the assassination of his brother Timo- phanes, who had usurped power in Corinth. Seized by remorse, he lived for nearly 20 years in utter seclusion. In 344 he took command of an expedition sent out by the Corinthians in aid of the Syracusans. After gaining a vic- tory over Hicetas, tyrant of Leontini, who had formed an alliance with the Carthaginians against Dionysius the Younger, he obtained the support of several Sicilian cities. He marched to Syracuse, and took possession of the island of Ortygia, surrendered to him by Dionysius, who sailed for Corinth. Timoleon retired to Adranum, while Neon, in command of Ortygia, attacked the blockading force of the Carthaginians. These soon began to dis- trust Hicetas, and suddenly sailed away with their whole fleet and all their troops. Timo- leon came at the head of 4,000 men, and took the portion of Syracuse held by Hicetas without the loss of a single man. He gave the inhabitants a democratic constitution, or- dered the fortifications to be demolished, and erected courts of justice on their site. In a short time more than 60,000 immigrants and exiles repeopled the deserted town. But in 339 the Carthaginians landed at Lilybaum an army of 80,000 men led by Hasdrubal and Ha- milcar. The inhabitants were panic-struck, and with difficulty Timoleon collected 12,000 men and set out for the western portion of the island, where he attacked the enemy just as they were crossing the Cremissus, and, aided by a storm, completely routed them. He soon after overthrew Hicetas and Mamercus, tyrant of Catana, and proceeded in his work of de- throning tyrants until none was left through- out Grecian Sicily. Timoleon declined the su- preme power, and withdrew again from public life, residing with his family in Syracuse, in a house voted to him by the inhabitants. Toward the close of his life he became totally blind. When he died, the Syracusan people voted to honor him for all future time with festival matches in music, races, and gymnastics. His life was written by Cornelius Nepos and Plu- tarch. T1MON, called THE MISANTHBOPE, an Athe- nian who lived in the latter part of the 5th century B. C. In consequence of disappoint- ments in friends, he secluded himself, and ad- mitted no one to his society except Alcibiades. He is said to have died from a broken limb which he refused to have set. He is the sub- ject of Shakespeare's " Timon of Athens." TIMOR, an island of the Indian archipelago, between Flores and Timor-Laut, extending N. E. and S. W. nearly 300 m., with a general breadth of about 50 m. ; area, about 11,500 sq. m. ; pop. about 200,000. It lies between lat. 9 30' and 11 40' N., and Ion. 123 20' and 127 10' E. The native chiefs on the W. and S. coasts acknowledge the supremacy of the Dutch, who have their principal settlement at Kupang or Coepang ; while those in the E. and N. parts pay tribute to the Portuguese, who have established themselves at Dilli. The coasts are but slightly indented, but the harbors of Kupang and Dilli are safe and commodious. The shores are lined in many places by rocks and sand banks; and several islets intervene between Timor and the island of Flores to the west and Timor-Laut to the east, which are re- spectively distant about 100 and 250 m. The island is traversed throughout its length by a mountain chain, which attains a height in the north of about 6,000 ft. There are no active volcanoes, nor are there any igneous rocks of recent origin ; but Timor peak, near the centre of the island, is a volcanic cone which has been quiescent since 1638. Numerous offsets extend from the main range to the coasts on both sides, so that the surface is almost entirely oc- cupied by mountains separated by narrow val- leys, though there are considerable tracts of level ground. The rivers are short mountain torrents ; many of them become dry in sum- mer, and the water is unwholesome. The mountains are generally bare and rocky, and there are no forests in the proper sense of the word. The indigenous vegetation is described by Wallace as poor and monotonous. It consists largely of eucalypti, acacias, and sandal wood, with grass scanty on the uplands, and coarse but luxuriant in the moister districts. Rice grows abundantly in the lowlands, and wheat and coffee thrive on the higher slopes and plains. Gold, copper, and iron have been found in small quantities. The animals on the N. W. side of the central range of mountains resemble those on the western islands of the archipelago, but those on the opposite side are strongly allied to the fauna of Australia, which is about 360 m. distant. Besides 15 species of bats, but seven mammals are met with in Timor; these are the common Indo-Malayan monkey, a civet cat, a tiger cat, a species of deer, a wild pig, a shrew mouse, and an opossum. There are 118 species of birds. The common do- mestic animals of Europe have all been in- troduced. Fish are plentiful on the coasts;