Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-04-16
THE GREAT DESERT.
THE AREA OF SAHARA NEARLY EQUAL
 TO THAT OF EUROPE.

TO THAT OF EUROPE.
 A Barrier to the Progress of Civilization
 Which Engineering Skill Is Trying to
 Overcome-The Important Point In the
 Solution of the African Problem.
 We have but to look upon the map to see how large a space upon the world s surface this mighty desert takes to it. self. It covers more square miles than the whole of the Mediterranean. If it were transported across that sea, it would extinguish Europe, tor it has been computed that if you leave out Scandinavia it would nearly cover the whole of it. If it were only sunk in the sea, the waves would roll over it, and it would be remembered no more for ever.
 But it insists on keeping its head above water and above ground, crowd ing out fertile portions of the earth, while its barrenness renders it unfit for human habitation. There it lies on the face of Africa, huge black spot, de- serted by man, as it seems to be accursed by God. No man passes by it or will ingly puts his foot thereon. Even the lonely caravan that skins it like bird leaves no track behind it any more than the bird in the air or the ship on the sea. It passes and is gone, leaving not a trace of life in man or beast or bird or any living thing. So far as we can see, the desert is an utterly worthless DOT ton of the globe.
 
 With such an incubus covering full half of northern Africa there would seem to be little hope of making any thing out of it, since the cause which renders its condition so hopeless cannot be removed. You cannot abolish the desert any more than you can abolish the sea. There it is, and there 1t will remain forever. Yes, but you can get over the sea in ships or under it by tele- graphs, so that it is no longer bar to the intercourse of nations. Is there any way of tanning the desert or subduing it so that it shall no longer be barrier to the progress of civilization? This is the most important question to be settled as bearing upon the future of Africa.
 Of course if it were left to the native inhabitants all things would continue as they were from the beginning of crea ton. Nor has Europe at large any in terest in it. But there is one European power that has an interest in it. France has large possessions on this side of the Mediterranean. Algeria and Tunis to- gether make country as large as one of the kingdoms of Europe, which France has the ambition to enlarge still further, so as to have great African empire, as England has her Indian en- pire. As part of the materials for this she has another great dependency in Senegam bia, on the western coast, country covering 400, ,00O square miles.
 If this could in any way be united to Algeria. if the two could be consolidated, the new empire" would at once as- sume vast proportions. But the desert blocks the way. It splits the proposed empire like a wedge. It cannot be re- moved, but is there not some way in which it can be converted into key stone for the mighty arch that is to span the continent from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic? That is the problem which has long exercised the minds of French statesmen, and which they in turn have referred to their engineers, who are among the best in the world, with what result may be briefly indi cated.
 First of all, they have shown that it is possible to convert portions of the desert into oases by the sinking of ar tesian wells. A hundred and forty miles south of Biskra is the oasis of Tuggurt, which has long supported thousands of Arabs, with their focks and herds, but which was nearly de- stroyed some years since by the wells becoming so choked up as to no longer furnish a supply of water. Vegetation withered until the wretched people, stripped of what was to them the very water of life and too ignorant to be able to renew the supply, were in despair and began to leave the country.
 Then the French engineers took the matter in hand and instead of trying to clear out the old wells commenced bor- ing the solid earth and in five weeks struck water to such a good purpose that a river rushed forth that yielded double the quantity furnished by the great well of Grenelle at Paris. To the Arabs it seemed miracle, and they be- gan to sing and dance in the widest manner to express their joy. The mir acle is one that can be wrought wher- ever men are willing to take the labor or to bear the expense. Of course to ac- complish a large result in the way of pasturage or agriculture it would have to be repeated on tremendous scale.
 But for the purpose of uniting the two vast territories of Algeria and Senegam- bia the first necessity is that of direct communication, which can only be by railroad across the desert of Sahara. Is this within the bounds of possibility? Nobody's opinion is of any value except that of an engineer, and that have tried to obtain. In Algiers the Amer ican consul took me to see MT. Brous- sais, who has made a special study of the subject and taken long journeys into the desert to survey the field of battle.
 He did not conceal from himself the enormous difficulties of travelling 1,500 miles with the want of water, the want of wood for railroad ties, the want of everything. He looked in the face the possi bilities of these sand storms, which might bury a railroad train, as they have buried thousand caravans. All this he had taken into consideration, and yet, looking all obstacles and all dangers in the face, he did not hesitate to assure me that in his judgment rail road across the desert of Sahara was quite within the resources of modern engineering.
 But were the dream already fulfilled, the desert crossed and the tide of travel in full course, the whole African prob lem would not be solved. This would be one step toward it.-Cor. Evangelist.