Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-22
Stories of Life and Adventure in the
Atlas Mountains.
NATIVES ARE EXPERT In FALCONRY
Leave Lions ard Other Big Game
to Foreign Sportsmen.
A DESPERATE ENCOUNTER
Written for The Evening Star.

| "liItGh LOT LIE ENCiliBS SlaT
| Much has been said of late about the fail
| ure of the French in Algiers to accomplish
, , what they originally intended in the way
of converting north Africa into colony
of France. To one who has been there and
seen the material evidences of French en-
ergy in converting vast tracts of sterile
soil into poisoning gardens, their great
'.barrages'' or dams, by which reservoirs
are formed for irrigation purposes, and
their successful attempts at reaHorestnS
the denuded hill and mountain sides, the
failure is not SO apparent
In the first place, any invasion of a coun-
try like Africa by civilized power such as
France is sure to be followed by incalcula-
bic blessings to the world al large. In the
second place, France had no well-defined
intention save of conquest when her troops
landed on African soil, now nearly seventy
years ago, and set about the overthrow Oh
| the semi-savage deys. Despite many deca-
rations to the contrary, 1t has been conciu-
| sively shown that the French are successful
as colonizers wherever they go, and that
they fraternize even ass.mlate, with the
native peoples to a greater degree than any
other natlonalltleS-
But be that as it may, there is no doubt
as to the beneficial results, of both the
French and British conquests in Africa,
and by opening to the traveller vast regions
otherwise inaccessible they nave won ms
gratitude. We should not measure the re-
suits of an attempt at conquest or colonial
ton by the returns in a short half century,
or even in full hundred years. Ihat the
French in Africa have gone there to stay
as a people, if not as individuats-ls SHOWN
nv the annexation of more than 2O0Ooo3
square miles of African territory during
the last twenty years
French Railways in Africa.
If the French had done nothing more than
to project and build the comprehensive
railway system which now parallels the
north African coast, they would have de-
served the thanks of all civilized people. By
means of this road we can now make Jour-
rev well into the desert region not to men
ton all the coast towns and cities between
Tunis and Oran, more than seven hundred
miles apart. From the main lne oHShoots
at intervals take us toward the desert ana
to interesting places. one OF the most las-
chatting Journeys offered being that from
Phillippeville through Constantine of which
it is the port, southwark to the oasis OF
Biskra. Phillippeville itself is a thriving
town with a fine harbor, but no one would
think of tarrying there while the city TO
which It is tributary lay ahead-Constan-
tine said TO be the most picturesqueiy sit
uated OF any city in the world Bult upon
the summit platform of vast rock, with
perpendicular sides of a thousand feet hlgn,
and to the river, which surrounds the city
on the north and east flowing between
reached by natural bridges of the living
rock One of these is called Ell kantara,
and is not disSimiar to the bridge of the
same name crossing the Tagus at Toledo
in Spain.
Ancently known Cirta, Constantine re-
ceived its present appellation about 313
AID, but existed for centuries previously,
its one-time monarch, Narva, having been
married to a sister of Hannibal Barca.
With it's relics of the different invaders,
as the Arabs. Romans, Nandals and its con-
nection with st. Augustine of sacred men,
ory this city has much to recommend 1t to
the tourist in addition to its natural attrac
lions. 1t is now siXty-two years since it
was Stormed and taken by the French, and
the magnificent palace of the deys CAST of
their liGe) became the Hotel de Vile"
With the French who took Constantine
came one who has passed into history as 4
veritabie MUnchhausen, on account of the
eXtraol linary tales he told of his subse-
quent adventures, but who, since his death
has been shown to be veracious and re-
liable.
The Great Lion Killer.
This man was that intrepid son of France,
Cecile Jules Basile Gerard, an officer of the
Algerian army of occupation, who became
known later on, through his exploits in the
region south of Constantine, as Gerard the
Lion Killer" AS he had been the object of
much boyish speculation, when l had read
his hair-raising stories of adventure, and
I believed implicitly every word he
wrote. and vowed that if ever the oppor-