The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1901-07-04
galway JOURNEY IN AFRICA.
-Four Hundred Miles to the Province of
GRAN Astonishing MOdernization of
,,rthern Africa.

oran. Astonishing Modernizarion OF
x,rthern Africa.
.special Correspondence OF The Journall
Il rlFNCEN, Africa, May %, 1901. From
q lger~ to Oran the distance by railway
q about four hundred miles in south
4 ,,,trrly direction. You start from the
4 tahon on the busy quay, taking one of
/ as clean, well-appointed coaches-late-
+, mdlt in England-which are at first
.arh surprise to the traveller who comes
IA africa prepared to rough it, and
Would find it easier to reconcile himself
. the camel transit of the Bedouins
.,r modern luxuries in this far coun-
n.y. The railway system of Algeria
r., made astonishing progress during
..reuJ Years. 1t is the aim of the adj
om.,tration to have great central line
-Ir way from Tunis to Morocco,
s,ug through the most important
.- in the interior, with various sub
lines joining this with the sea.
GOOD deal of it is already completed,
le time is not distant when one
navel all over northern Africa in
l. amtOrtable and common place fash
10. US anywhere in the United States
I'll 5erS of the adventurous, this is a
rWointment rather than an improve
a- ike the modern hotels that have
Ifs ped the wild camps of the Yosem-
r. te Garden of the Gods and the
D8al Canon of the Colorado, and the
Ways that now desecrate the heart
a e Andes and other of natures
-r sanctuaries. Soon the poor globe
g.ter, i'll his quest for novelty, will
d mSelf in the hard luck of Noah'S
dos. when first sent out to discover dry
Hd and will return sadly to his ark
Ntuout the typical olive branch.
TVenous nos moutons, First the
,5u passes slowly through Agha-the
ndtacturing suburb of Algiers, where
.lg shops and works" OF every varie-
ol. and saw mills, iron works, gas
works. potteries, the new female prison
and the old Lazaretto-a very inferno
ID heat, smoke and hubbub, which you
Gladly leave behind. Then, running
dose to shore, you raise the window of
aag compartment to enjoy the soft
,ezes and gentle ripping of the Medi-
t-ianean. There is no dashing surf
doug this coast, but the great inland
So. 5 tranquil as frog pond, with lit
- use and fall of the tide. At Hussei
prt- so-called from palace which be-
gN.ed to the last Dey of Algiers, but
/. now incorporated in the great gov
-ment establishment for the purchase
uG sale of tobacco-you enter a region
market-gardens, and might almost
Mry Yourself III the suburbs of Boston
. icago. \ little farther on, having
pissed the junction with the line to
,tantine, the road makes an abrupt
.t TO the west, following bend of the
rjeh river and enters the far-famed
lIt-Idia. This is vast fertile plain, a
dled kilometers long by twenty-five
aai lying between the high lands of
Nahel and the foot hills of the Atlas
contains. 1t is said that fully thirty
NH,and Europeans, mostly small farm
IN
number is constantly increasing.
several picturesque villages are passed
3ou Farik, Sidi-Moussa, Rouge Au-
.-e. If time permits, it is well to
-ll your journey for "A hours, by
top at Rouge, i'll order to visit the
ts of IIammam Belouan. The vii
ase is beautifully situated on the first
uprs of the Atlas, at the point
e.rre the deep, wide Harrach enters
.r plain. The stage road winds through
- ghtful mountain scenery, the sides
1, The ravine covered with pines, thuy-
as md olives, and the river fringed with
agrant oleanders. The baths, which
le III high repute all over Europe, be-
iuse of their healing qualities in rheu-
matte and cutaneouS affections - are
NtJated in an open part of the valley,
b. the midst of many acres of park-like
and, with fine old olive and lentisk
lees, which form an ideal camping
ground. We found it full of tents, and
they tell us that from the middle of May
10 the end of October, hundreds of
Jews and Europeans are encamped here.
The guardian of the place says that he
takes in an average of seven hundred
francs month in fees from the baths;
and as the charge is only five centimes
bath. it follows that fourteen thou
sand are taken during that time. No
doubt there would be many more, were
'HeTe better accommodations. As a
rule passing travellers cannot command
camping outfits, and the one little inn
eontains only three wretched bedrooms.
There are two principal springs, one of
which flows through rude bath in the
ancient Arab koubba of 81 SULLIVAN;
and the other is in wooden hut behind
tie auberge. Both are dirty and ill
cared for: and being only seven feet by
iQnr it is difficult to understand how
the large number of visitors who fire.