The Opelousas courier., 1883-07-07
THE INLAND SEA.
Dehrsscp> and tEc Grandest Of bis G,,n,x

4 matter Of public tlih That H. H. 'ecaue
fati%lhlv II. d. ,Ia.sn. I,.I IIls llde,
ton divided between the rrtt;n', a.iea,
Panama i>timns and u~uoti,er so o. the
by which he proposed t. conv @s4el4e
fAm*Ha Desert of Sahara into = The
inland sea. WhcnH De Lcgso8 great
known LIS plaza for the cutt;,p r. made
Sucz canal, Lord I~almcrston 5o1 u te
to be one Of the most practir3l 'olleFed
men Of the day, set tie Fronot' 'A'es'
~jector down is al impractical dra.p fO.
The improbable III the Snez 'ailet,
became the improcticab}e in the p S d
Ma canal and impossible in w. una
posed flooding OF tho great A. pro-
desert. Evil prophets did not fr;nLtan
TIE pIucky little Frenchman rro1o u u
Egyptian enterprise Hor did tLev W :le
der its success. As little hovc n rl'
hindcred him from facing the Dro .usY
difficulties Of the Panama schema o's W.;
now according to his report. tho ;nl sla
African sea project promises an naa;'o
as well as more immediate victory tSas
the undertaking at Panama. '"'H
The Inland c scheme did mt
believe, originate with NJ. dc Laqeon W.T.
but with Commandant Roudaire, wbs
has made Il careful study Of 4 to
ground for many years. From t H.
very first however, it has found a WON'T ans
friend in the person Of the great n,a
%jector; and he has repeatedly and N
various ways brought it before the nnI
lie. III a very particular manner h.,
has pressed it OF the attention of A..
Academy OF Sciences. That he b'.
been successful III influencing nnb;o
opinion i'll It's favor, W. are not permit
ted to doubt; and the conyiction !.
very general that it had somptI;no
TO do with the expedition 10
Iunis. AS showing the interest wf;dS
was taken III the scheme, a commisgin
WAS appointed to investigate the mat
ter. The report was favorable. 4
concluded that the feed canal could h
surely made, and that the sea. which
would be i'll no danger Of evaporatlno
away, would do much by inducinSS
rains, and by the water in the lake ~ y
inland sea pcrcolating the soil, as doa,
the Nile that Of Egypt, to fertilizel arm
tracts of now barren country, and. IN
consequence, to all generally in Tho
simplifcation OF the political problem
in that part Of the world. Some three
months ago NJ. de Lesseps, encouraged
by the report, octosenarian almost As
he is, set out 10 make a personal eT.
animation. He took with him Com.
mandant Roudaire and a committee Of
exports. He has come back perfecfy
satisfied, and convinced not only that
the sea can be made, but that it can be
made at a cost which will be amply 70.
m~unerative.
When the scheme was first mootea
some ten ears ago, it suggested all
manner of evil to some minds. Such,
sea-a new southern sea beyond The
Mediterranean, would completely
change the climatic conditions Of Italy,
Spain and Greece, and probably stnip
the Alps Of their crown Of snow. Il
was therefore, seriously proposed That
the CARRYING ont of such q plan shoull
not be allowed without the general
consent of tic European Governments.
1t was a serious matter to enter upon
an enter.Iisc which might greatly
change the climate of Europe, and
hence it ought to be made an interna.
tional question. The proposal, hover.
er. then was to flood the entire Sahara,
or the greater part Of ia vast inhos.
pitable region, some two Thousand
miles from east to west, and about one
thousand miles from north to south.
The present plan, it appears, is not 80
gigantic, and therefore less fitted to in.
spire alarm, as well as more feasible
and likely of success. A glance at the
map will show that the southern part
of Tunis and the southeastern part Of
Algeria arc interspcrsed with what are
called "Cllotts," or largo marshy lakes,
which, chain-like, reach from Gahel,
on the Tunisan coast, almost to Diskra,
a town of some Importance, about 800
miles inland. These "Chotts," which
are considerably below the level
of the Mediterranean, it is proposed to
flood by means of a canal starting frcn
Tozer, in the near neighborhood o.
Gabes. The sea thus admitted, will
form a vast lake. The size is not men,
toned, but it will probably not be les
than 1000 or 5000 square miles, and i
is to be deep enough to admit the latg'
est vessels. The canal will By straight
Oh nearly so-a circumstance which
will greatly facilitate navigation.
It is calculated that the effect Of tho
sea on the adjoining lands will be grea'
and largely beneficial. The climatei i.
self, M. de Lesseps says in his repof',
would be greatly changed by q Sa
sheet of water in the basin Oh !s
"Chotts." 1t would be rendered n,ol Y
and evaporation would be paid PACK
- ..1s~ ClN1zy0V.c tfDn I1uu