Bil1 Bristow, age 10, of Petersburg,, Va., for his question:

Is there really a town called Timbuktu?

Yes indeed, there is such a town, though in most atlases it is spelled Tombouctou. Look for it in French West Africa on the river Niger. To the north is the hot dry Sahara desert and to the south the country is farm land and tropical vegetation.

Tombouctou is home to some 7,000 dark skinned Africans. The people live a simple life under the tropical sun. Their homes are made of mud and thatched with grasses and much of the day is spent in the market place. There the women sit at their stalls in the shade of great grass umbrellas selling their baskets,, melons, mullet, peanuts and rice.