The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1901-07-25

ting Excursions Already Arranged Tor
nim in the Province of Algeria. The
,,..sr, of sahara not Half so Bad as it
ia. Geen Painted.
..,i31 correspondence of The Journal.1
,i,ItRS, June 10, 1901. Thanks to
r..uth and English enterprise, in the
.., of railroads, highways and well
am. mountain passes, the traveller who
w.. few weeks to spare may see pretty
....a ail of the big province of Algeria
which. by the way, is something over
.rHudred miles long by approximately
.-g- broad. Diligencias go where the
.,Iaa5 las not yet penetrated; in every
..,. ut consequence carriages or wag-
-s, may be hired for short trips, or
..e-tormJuntain climbing; and where
.... are absent, native caravanSerai
.g taste of that variety which is
..t the spice of life. Tourists may
... carney i'll comparative comfort
-.-... he French Sahara-on camel
r.. -Aey insist on doing the thing
a-. d way, though that is no longer
....-..ly Popular belief still continues
b. are the Sahara as an immense
.- moving sand, with fertile GASES
.t. ere and there, as expressed by
..u.o"te smile of the panther's skin
zeal idea, whose only fault is
.. .uthfulnesS. The Algerian Sa-
.m wu>ists of two distinct regions,
n,a as the Upper and Lower Sahara
--...f inner vast depression of sand
SILL. .st. extending on the east as far
-.r trontier of TuniS: the latter
u.t ateau, rising in some places
n.s uree thousand feet, stretching
.-. 70 EST to the borders of Marocco
r4gN worst of it all is as garden
.r>-. compared to the Arizona desert
nt other portions of our great
Ms, Us TO the moving sand, which
ae los liken to net, Though bad
-oa1a. t happily does not extend over
e srea Besides the GASES proper,
r..Uag Benz M'Zab, Gulad Sidi Che
Isl II, ksours-there are groves and
M-u- and gardens all along the edges
n SAHARA. in ravines that cross the
.~sr and even i'll the shifting sands,
rp4u rrigation is possible. From time
.mm~murial artesian wells have existed
fl -le DESERT, spreading life and wealth.
Mountain torrents, rushing through
steep and narrow gorges, irrigate the
a,-s where curious dams retain and
sa,olp The water. The streams that
ituate through these dams, especial
fHtr The heavy rains of winter and
.- a..ting of mountain SHOWS in early
.1l- are again absorbed by the Sa-
5, rrigating canals. Wherever a
Tread of the precious liquid can
b. iud wheat, corn, and alfalfa are
aIted to the utmost. The Lower
founded on the north by the
l.a.ain range of Aures and the foot
Bou-kahil-occupies a depres-
uk below the level of the sea in
,I---l, soil, a part of which forms a
.-t st water salter than the great
@. tab, which, as everybody
a. s salter than the sea. In sum-
a-- LIS Sahara lake is of no great
r wing to evaporation. 1t is COW
a- slrl a thick and glistening coat of
},.as SO dazzling in the sun that one
lly distinguish where the salt
d the water begins. Its bottom
1yss of black mud, emitting an
5stnt odor-which is probably due
IrtSence of bromides; and criSS-
.>- all over it are veins of solid
.4 forming natural causewayS,
he natives traverse in safety
Ell mules or camels. Consider
-- B. CTS cross the desert-notably the
.H Chott, Aures, Gghaghar: but
.ly they are permanent streams
the upper part of their courses.
ur down their waters dry up under
-tfaVld African sun, or are drunk by
&. rsty sand or are absorbed by
mees, or filter through the upper
tatf and flow along the clayey bot
4 ich underlieS it. In many places
Ua' deep depressions are found, full
water, which seem to indicate a sub
snaHean lake. In other parts water
tabtes close to the surface of the
CLOSED in a sandy subtratum I'M
bed of sulphate of lime, crystal
its upper surface and amorphous
,.' under. One has only to penetrate
aver of gypsum to create a well.
] '4-l The Arabs want to plant date
so'a they scrape off the entire upper
2Si and set their palms in the aquifer-
ssdnd beneath, thus forming orchards
lra}dted like ants nests, considerably
t1a the level of the surrounding
Ql.ry.
d liz 8esterr Sahara that adjoins Ma
mo mostly made up of rocky step
s rhe depressions between them being
Jet With sand, the higher plateaux
lmWed with immense ravines, with
water or vegetation. A more desc
dT legion can hardly be imagined-but