The oldest caravan conductors go first, to lead the way…though without a compass, or any instrument of observation, they possess so completely the habit of noticing the most minute things, that they never go astray…
-Réné Caillié, Travels through Central Africa to Timbuctoo, 1830
When it was Old Bilal’s turn to lead the three Daboukas for the day, he had a sharp eye for finding the one Tukul selling Merissa in a village of many that we passed, and after he ducked in for a long draught, we all ended up going astray.