The New York herald., 1876-02-04
AT ToUGGouRT.

ToUGGouRr, Dec. g. 1876
We left Bskra on the afternoon of November %
Several OF friends accompanied distance OF
some kilometres beyond the oasis and left after
many hearty wishes for safe return We also babe
adieu to one OF party, the young brother Of
NJ Say VINO was recalled to France by a de-
spatch from his family. There are only four of us,
then, who will go to Rhadames, and beyond there
should longer journey be deemed Of greater utility
the object Of the entcrprse-our chief the explorer,
NJ Largeau, the naval ensign, NJ. Louis Say, NJ
Faucheur and myself We have camels and mules for
our baggage and ourselves. Besides muleteers
and camel drivers all from Biskra take along with
three servants who will remain with and whose
modest functions will consist simply in unloading our
cames each evening and In cooking They are all three
natives Of FL Oued the capital Of the Souf II is
necessary ! should present to you the most i'm
portant OF these three servants young Souh
Mohammed Ali ben Embarek or, simply, ALI
He is young fellow of ebony TINT very careful OF his
person and who does not fear competition in the cook
ing OF "kouskous" or the simple preparation OF
'kaoua" (coHee. Besides he speaks French and will
act interpreter He is in command Of his assistants
the young souafa Abd-Alah and Amar, and throws
the greater part Of the work on them, for must ad
NIT that Ali is lazy-very lazy even; but he Is devoted
In short the best recommendation he could have with
us Is his having already accompanied NJ Largeau last
year to Rhadames. For US that sulces.
What change there is in our dressl Who would
recognize to-day in the costume which tho climate
has imposed on usS We are Arabs from hesd to foot
Our heads completely shaven, leaving not the
smallest tu OF hair and protected from sunstroke by
three 'chachias'' placed top, enveoped in turban
Eve yards long, which, after having gone round the
head several times, is yet sufficient to protect the
shoulders and part Of the face over undergar-
- tln
and drawers Of the Arabs, the whole covered by
gandoura IA sort OF large shirt without sleeves) hang
ing down half the length OF our bodies, sof boots Of
red leather, which tackled for want OF soles into
strong slippers OF yellow leather Of which we are
bound TO consume large amount before our return TO
starting point Around the turban Is coled some
dozens OF yards OF cames hair cord, and over all this
We wear two immense 'burnous' IA kind Of hooded
cloak) the hoods Of which we pull down over eyes
when the gares. The burnous serve during the
night for blankets well to preserve from the cold
and prevent the too close approaches OF the scorpions
and the famous horned vipers, OF which hope to
bring back some specimens to crafty the curiosity Of
amateurs
We are armed with excellent military rihes-Martinis,
winchesters and Romlngtons-and Lefaucheux revolv-
ers Galore twelve. NJ Largeau has armed our
servants with fowlnE pieces. All, to whom double
Darrelled gun has been given, is using II at each
instant afraid that before long shall be
obliged TO do our own cooking
We march along, following the slight track Of the
caravans Beyond Bskra there are teegraphs, no
/ military posts no roads. From Batra 70 Biskra q
single telegraph wire follows the road traversng the
mountains and stretching across precipces The
majority Of the Arabs understand nothing about the
instantaneous transmission OF thought by means Of
electricity, aud imagine the telegraph to be series Of
| little bells which wira Our caravan Is also