The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-06-17

which brings destruction to man ara
beast? Just as we discriminate oetwes ..n
wind and storm, just so tne Saanhti-
has sandwinds and sandstorms. Nao IN,
gal. the great explorer, relates Una. ca
ing visit at "Niursuk' the arr was ss,. 70
filed with sand and dust that eFe ne
ming on the oasis the green ~ 10
gardens, the palms, &c. was chahse ,,au
dirty grayish color, and such "a. a. s,,n
OF dust covered the heavens that III. ,,oee
appeared as mere white speChti, sur
rays were so broken that the en'.i,ityht -
roundings were in constant tNihs srho
This was tho result OF a sandwind. lnS
"Samum" or sandstone, makes lss or
pearance I'm quite dihefehe ,.asare n
About an hour. or even mort, 81 sand
reaches you, hea-ss yellow Slou, ,r,,osphere
appear on the horizon. the atniiD,ap
is heavy and charged with eI.aunst and
tired feeling befalls man ana peios, , r,ai
the camels become unrulyi, Ids with
are forced 10 lie down, their neaua .bor,.
the wind Men and women coNsl -.
selves with their clothes, doing the,r IT, Thl,
TO have their faces well concealeu. ne
''Samum" generally lasts from ten 10
thirty minutes and Is frcqu Pr y "'~O''
ranied by a very heavy rainian ,,os
A "samum" with such doNhpour We
enc ountered by Rohlfs on Easter Aoh1i.a,y.
April 10, 1879 The air was leadeh; Inc
wind changed 10 q regular i rirSnS.
kOhlfs had his tent which was tnr "a -
OF the caravan taken lJWn ara crA",i
underneath tie canvass, awaiting the
sbride Of The desert" as the Be1ouin
calls the "sam,Inn.' The storm became
lercer and hercer, thick clouds OF which
you could not tell were they SAND or
masses Of steam circled with terrific
velocity over the heads Of the travellers;
q cannonade of thunder Wbrated the
earth. Once in n while you heard Tie
cracking Of a palm as tie storm oroke II
IN two. Then the storm lifted the tent
Ike Il balloon, and 70 make the contI-
sion perfect. tie rain cane down IN such
= volume that n faw seconds sufced &c
dreLch to the ska.
Then all II j sudder, rs by. masir.
Il became wonderfully still and the sl2r
ious sun appeared again in the priest ana
bluest OF ethers and It's powerful tropical
rays soon dried everything. Without a
doubt the "samum" is one Ok the worst
plaques OF the desert: ii weakens man
and beast and the sand end dust which
Is driven before Il forces It's way through
the smallest crevices and thickest covers.
and permeates mouth, nose. ana eyes
but not In such quantities tina. II cannot
be got rid OF with ease. The very tneSt
sand even forces It's way into wa.ches;
tIt none Of IL will suflOcate man or ami
NAL.
A "samum" ever so severe might cover
a whole caravan with a heavy pail OF
dust and sand, but never throw up such
moutains Of sand as 10 bury whole cara
van. This IS only one Of the many
fables OF the desert These sandstOrms
travellers. but in a quite different man.
ner. The stock Of water for a caravan
is generally carried in goat skins. They
are not particularly good reservoirs, how
ever, for they soon allow an enormous
quantity Of their contents TO evaporate.
a result OF the extraordinary heat a sand
storm brings with Il. This evaporation.
now and then. takes such proportions that
a whole caravan might die ot thirst es-
peciaily when the hot sands,orm has
dried up all the springs and pools on the
way.
The air Of the Sahara IS NJ times so
dry that when rain clouds come up from
the distance the rain cannot fall to the
ground. as il already cvaporates In mid
air. which phenomenon IS accompanied
by peculiar mixes in the atmosphere. y
"samum" has been known 10 reach
temperature Of rs degrees 10 l3S degrees.
Fahrenheit in the shade. The scorching
power Of q wind Is better illustrated by
the following fact: Tn Central Australia.
near the Hunt River at one time. hot
desert wind destroyed every wheat field
In radius Of ten miles; In the Central
Aslatic deserts. especially In the desert
Of Cobb, these sandsiorms are even fiercer
than In the Sahara. At certain periods
OF the year their appearance is frequent
occurrence. and one has been known 10
last even one whole day: then the dis
turbed masses of sand/an1 dust are so
thick that even at midday the lumnarv
is hid from view and darkness reiGns
supreme But even these severe storms
have never been known 20 annihlate
caravan provided IL carried a good water
supply
Another fable Of the desert found in
the school books everywhere Is that the
camel carries n water reservoir IN its
stomach. and that the Bedouins OF the
desert when they are near death from
thirst kin the camel and greedily drink
the water supposed TO be IN its stomach.
In the desert the fable Is unknown.
People whose home IS IN the desert can
bear thirst much easier than we can.
The sons OF the desert have n peculiar
idea that we live In lakes and swamps.
and that we carry on a semi-amphibious
existence for to the Arabs the great
quantities of liquids We drink are as
eniemaucal nc their abstinence therefrom
is 10 us. To us q two days existence IN
the desert without drink IS sure death.
Nachtigal relates that the 1ubu tribes or
the Sahara think nothing Of II TO march
four days without a drink Of water. At
night they travel; In daytime they rest
IN the shade some huge rock, being
careful not 10 multiply the craving for
water by unnecessary movement or too
much food. But II four days have passed
the Tubu's mind becomes cloudea and
he makes one more attempt lie fastens
himself tight to the saddle Of the camel
and hopes the instinct Of the animal VIII
lead him 10 pool Of water. The camel
also is n real child Of the desert. and can
DAYS without water
Another fable or let ne rather call It
an erroneous idea. IS the supposition
that II will be possible 10 transform the
sahara into a sea by connecting It with
the Mediterranean or Atlantic. Scientists
have carefully measured the altitude OF
this desert and have found that. with
a few trivial exceptions. the Sahara is
I'm its entirety complete plateau Which
can never be reached artihcially by the
waters Of any sea. The idea 70 inundate
this desert Is simply out Of question,
the climate Of Southern Europe might
change is without foundation
on the other hand. II is within the
reach Of human ingenuity 10 bore arte-
stan wells and by so doing create rev
oasis and reclaim a great portion Of the
Sahara for men and civilization. EXpe-
rimcnts have proven successful. one ar
tesian well In the Algerian Sahara gives
6.l)l quarts OF water FER minIte.-Nal-
demQr IrV