With her mother and several scientists, Tinne first travelled down the Nile in 1863. Because of the trip, she gathered lots of scientific information, but Tinne's mother and two of the scientists died. Later, she prepared another trip across the Sahara. She took two big iron tanks of water. The Muslim people, thinking that the tanks had gold inside, attacked Tinne. They cut her with their swords, cutting off her hand so she could not use her gun. The attackers then ran away, leaving her to bleed to death. She died alone in the desert.