The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-04-01

/ for distance. then disappear III the Sdtlu
1 Here and there are wells along the car
| AVIAN routes spring of water in the
| desert is precious In proportion to its
| rarity Ages ago these springs were To-
| Gated and a cave-like excavation made,
I sometimes in the solid rock. Thus a els
tern, holding sometimes thousands of gal
4, Ions, was constructed, with a short flight
/ Of steps leading from the surface down to
| the water. over the entrance a little
| mosque-like building is erected. with
| DOME and very often an inscription, stat
| ing the name OF the builder and that Of
| the Moslem saint in whose honor X was
| reared The entrance is carefully walled
! up with hewn stones, made to fit very
/ exactly each other and the sides OF the
| doorway. When there is clay In the neigh
| horhood every crack is carefully plast-
| cred up A caravan arriving at one of
| these WELLS must remove the solid stone
, doorway ere obtaining access to the wa
ter and II Is n matter OF almost religious
| observance before departure to close the
| entrance as effectively as possible to
| prevent the evaporation of the water, for
| otherwise. the next corners might arrive
| dying Of thirst and find that the water had
! disappeared.
Some idea of the value of water in the
| greatest of all deserts may be gained
/ from the statement that between
| Tamassanine and Asben, on the south
| ern border of Sahara distance of more
| IMAM IsNuu miles, lfltFt oniy tiiItt VI
| these wells and two Gases so that the
| expedition. a slow-movng body, on
account of the great number of heavily
| laden camels. was sometimes four or
| five days I'm marching from one well to
| another. Throughout the sand district
| and in the region Of the dunes. progress
was extremely slow. on account of the
| difficulty OF travelling in the sand. AS
! light as snow, the feet sank to the
| ankles at every step and made walk
| ing a matter of serious hardship.
| Another obstacle to rapid progress was
| the difficulty experienced in inducing
| the camels to go either directly up OF
| directly down a dune. 1t was almost
| impossible to compel them to do So
| The arrival at the bottom and at the
| top OF every sand hill was the signal
| for battle royal between the cameis
on one side and their drivers on the
/! other, the former insisting on diagonal
| course, by which the ascent was made
| easier, and a still longer diagonal from
| top to bottom, to tighten the burden in
going down, for If there is anything that
| "a camel dislikes more than the labor OF
| climbing up a hill, It is the labor of
| climbing down. and sometimes the
whole caravan was compelled to make
| detour of several miles in order that
the camels might have their way.
| The few GASES in the desert are by no
| means the bright. green, cheerful places
| they have been described. There is al
ways spring, generally OF small d.
| mansions compared with the ample vol
| umes which pour from American hill
sides. Its waters are collected in a COW
cred reservoir with door, and the first
| rule and precept of life In a Saharan
| oasis is always to shut the reservoir
| door, for leaving 1t open means a dim-
| mutton In the supply of the LIQUID that
makes existence possibility. The pres
| ence of water. however. even In limited
| quantity. so mitigates the aridity of the
| soil of few acres. that the cultivation
| of dates and sometimes also of the
| dhourra becomes possibility. village
| of stone huts, hardly NJ for domestic
animals. 200 300 half-starved inhabit-
| ants, "A few parched grain fields. a grove
| OF half-dred date palms-these consti-
tute the oasis. and miserable place II
| 1t.
The men generally net as camel driv-
| ers and guides, but their knowledge is
| commonly limited to the route between
their own oasis and the, next. Seldom
have they been further. but they have
| the credit of knowing thoroughly what
| they claim they know. and II Is marvel
| Gus with what accuracy they are able to
| guide caravan over region where the
| shifting sands obliterate In an hour the
| tracks of the light-footed cameis. To
| the European, one sand dune is as
much like another as two peas, but the
| jewellers In the desert recognize at a
| glance the differences, which to the eve
unskilled are impreceptible.
The guides are the pilots OF the desert.
and the responsibility for the lives of all
in the caravan rests upon their shoulders
should they miss the way to the next
well, the men and beasts might perish OF
thirst They are interchangeable. During
the long, weary day march they may be
ahead 10 m i ~ gfI,s
and sand dunes. and indicating by shaking
their robes and Vomiting with their hands
| the proper course of the journey They
| travel the distance twice over. clint Ing
| every eminence 10 obtain view OF the
land ahead with all this labor they
| abe the most ahsteniious OF men. a hand
| ful OF dates and few sips of water con-
| stitutc their rationS for the day, and they
| understand perfectly the value OF man
| tanning the abstemiousnsss which, IN their
| desert life. has become second natlrc.
| One guide of the French exnelition le-
| fused glass OF water offered him by an
| officer, stating. as ne did SO, that he had
| a drink the day before Men of this type
| are q necessity IN the desert. without
them II would he inposslblc to traverse
| those weary wastes OF saui.
| Speaking OF SAM recalls the fact that
| srstt.v mistake commonly prevails VITA
| regard to the color OF tho Sahatan SAN.
| most persons supposing 1t to ae that ~
| tho material used in this counay sor nA.id-
| ing The sahara Is of an colors. In the
| course Of single days march the French
| expedition passed hills ,f lnnss. green
| blue. rod gray. purple Snd almost black
| sand varied by a stretch NJ level main
| rs white as SNOW Generally, however
| the Nhiteness proceeded not tr I'm and.
1 but from salt
Of animal aud vegetable lie there 4
| little few thin lizards among the rocks
a few beetles which probably exist Tor
| the purpose Of keeping the lizards alive
! these are the fauna. The vicinity OF the
GASES. however. ia Wei stocked with an
| insect life with which the traveller could
very well dispense There are no nlcs
! the climate is too dry for them but fleaS
| are found by the milton In every village
| ants, scorpions and thcr insects not men
| TONED In polite society are almost as uu-
merols as the IDEAS. The fora 90 the Sa-
! hAra consist 81 few stunto1 acac!as.
| which along the caravan routes are kept
well n!ppca by tho Camris here and here
! a ouueh % caru and a few siuiiar plants.