The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-09-03
BIG FLOOD IN THE SAHARA.
FRENCH SOLDIERS FEE THROUGH
WlTFR- COVERED SANDS

Overwhelmed by n Cloud burst Rains
Make Green Part of tho Central Desert.
General Pedoya. OF the French military serv-
leo in Algeria. has sent homo n report from the
Sahara Desert announcing that detachment
OF his force had been Surprised In the night by
flood in tho usually dry bod Of wady. that
six OF the men were drowned and the escape OF
any OF them was little short OF miraculous. The
scene OF the catastrophe 10 about 900 miles
south Of the city Of Aleiera. where the desert
sands sprend away In all directions but are re-
lieved here and there by a series OF GASES ere
ated by artesian wells that tap underground
streams. Many thousands Of palm trees thrive
In these GASES. div hen Of the wells dies"
as occasionally happens from the exhaustion
OF an underground vein OF water. the incident
represents a loss OF from 1900 to 1000 palms,
for they are wholly dependent for life upon tho
subterranean water sources.
It Is well known that sudden and heavy rain
fall sometimes occurs In small areas Of the
Sahara. 1t Is "a very unusual event. however.
and its duration is seldom more than 4 few
minutes or two or three hours. The downpour
OF April IL last that In q few minutes covered
the dry. fiat bed OF the Wady Urirlu with a
raging torrent in which six French soldiers
lost their lives was wholly unprecedented.
There is no record OF any similar occurrence In
the Sahara on so large scale.
The Urirlu. like many OF the wadys OF the
Sahara. is the trace left across the country by
the river that flowed there at q time when pre-
cipitation was moro abundant than at present.
1t Is not a river bed OF great lenRth for It Is
merely a western tributary OF the large system
OF the Wady Mia. The stony bed OF the Urirlu
Is depressed only a few inches below the fat
surface OF the desert sands. and, In fact there
are no elevations for some miles around except
the occasional mounds raised by heaping up
the material excavuted in boring or digging
wells II 1t had not been for these mounds.
raised few feet above the level OF the flood.
there is little doubt that every one OF Gen.
Pedoya's men would have persisted.
The detachment OF soldiers mum bered ninety
men and on the evening OF April L. they camp ped
in tho bed OF the Wady Uriru. Most of the day
had been brilliant with sunshine but the SOL
ders were surprised about s 80 p NJ. by gather
ing clouds and fine rain fell which lasted
only few minutes 1t was probably about
that time or a little later. that the cloudburst
occurred. miles away. among the hills from
which the former river derived its supplies Of
water. II any signs OF tho cloudburst could
be seen from the camp they were not observed.
and the men pitched their fonts, ate their eve
ming 10 cal and prepared to retire without tho
slightest thought Of danger They were in a
region inhabited by peaceful palm growers.
and that either man. beast or the elements
might drive them sll-mell out OF camp scurry-
ing for shelter and protection was tho last
thought that would have occurred to any OF
them.
Most OF tho men had already gone to bed at
$3.50 p N. when a sentinel came rushing
among the tents. from his post on the outer
| edge ofthe camp. shouting again and again
| the startling warning:
Save yourselves The waters are coming"
Tn mat bn
| water was already ankle deep am ng the tents
aud the thirsty sands were drinking it up with
| Kissing sound. The roar OF the onpouring
| food from the west almost drowned the noises
| OF tho startled camp. minute later the
| water was knee deep and every man was out
| OF the wady bed and bending every energy to
| reach ole Of the mounds. In Ave minutes an
area about three -nfths OF a mile across was
under six feet OF water. BY this time most OF
tho soldiers had clambered up on the hilocks
| OF dirt. and were out OF harms reach for the
food did not last long enough to sweep the
mounds away. few men were still SWIM
| ming for their lives. and six were car
| red on and overwhelmed by the flood and
| their bodies were found next day several m lies
| from the camp.
Nothing was saved. A few men had grabbed
| their guns or clothing. but lost them in the
| fierce struggle to get away from the food that
rose to their waists and then to their necks
before they were out OF danger. All the tents
and camp equipments were swept away and
strewn for several miles over the sandy plain
The men escaped only with the clothing they
| had on. and in most cases there was little of
that They were dazed as much by the sur
| prisng nature OF the catastrophe rs by the
| terrible peril it brought. They could scarcely
| realize that 1t was possible TO be overwhelmed
with water in such a place. and 1t was some
! time before they had any idea how It came
| about.
This is what had occurred: There had been
| q frightful coudburst over the high hills
| among which the Wady Urrlu has its
sources. Doubtless many hundreds OF
tons OF water fell in a very short
time upon an extremely limited area. and
nearly all this water was carried In a
torrent down tho bed OF tho wady and when 1t
reached the plain whore the camp was pitched
| II spread out over 1t and covered it to a depth
| exceeding tho ordinary stature OF a man. In
| the m orning there were no traces OF the flood
| except the havoc II had wrought The waters
| spreading over a considerable area. had disap-
| peared In tho sand. The well known fact was
| again eIemplifed that. in great wastes, only
the persistent application OF water has any par
ticular effect upon desert vegetation. Here
was little district that had suddenly absor bed
an immense quantity OF water. and expert
ments were at once made to see whether it
would give any creator encouragement to
plant growth than the surrounding parts OF tho
desert. 1t did not. The temporary drenching
had impaired no v!talizing quality to the sur
face.
This interesting incident illustrates possible
occurrences In the Sahara desert which few
persons have supposed could come TO pass
there, The moro tho desert is studied the
more evident 1t becomes that 1t is not quite so
deficient in water as II was once supposed to
he. During the eight journeys into the Sahara
which NJ +. Foureau made between 1883 and
1898 he observed number Of hail storms and
found that snow fails in winter on the tops OF
some OF tho mountains. He found also the in
| interesting phenomenon known as fulGurites.
or tubes formed in the sand by lightning
strokes which vltriiy the sand and leave the
| tubes. az moro or less enduring evidence Oh
! tho electrical discharges. He discovered many
fulgurites and this year he has collected evil
| dences OF considerable recent rainfall In the
very heart of the Sahara. In January last. in
| his journey across the desert no entered the