Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-07-13

hundred miles In a Southwestern
h ly direction. You start from
the station on the busy quay
n taking one OF the clean, well-ap-
M pointed coaches--lately built In
Engiand-which are al first such
a surprise to the traveller who came TO
Africa prepared to trough it ana
would find II easier 20 reconcile him
self TO the camel transit of the Bedouins
than modern luXuries in this far coun-
try. The railway system OF Algeria
has made astonishing progress during
recent years. II As the aim OF the
administration 20 have great central
line all the way from Tunis to Morocco,
passing through the most important
points In the interior. with various
subsidiary lines Joining this with the
sea. a good deal of II is already COM
pleted, and the time Is not distant when
one may travel all over northern Africa
IN as comfortable and commonplace
fashion as anywhere In the United
states To lovers Of the adventurous,
this IN a disappointment rather than an
Improvement the modern hotels
that have usurped the WILD camps OF
the Yosemite the Garden Of the Gods
and the Grand Canyon OF the Colorado,
and the railways that now desecfate the
Heart Of the Andes and other OF Ma
lures Inner sanctuaries. Soon the poor
globe-trotter In his quest for novelty,
will find himself IN the hard luck OF
Noah's dove when first sent out to dis
cover dry land and viii return sadly
20 his ark without the typical olive
branch,
Reyenous nos moutonel First the
train passes slowly through Agha--
the manufacturing suburb OF Algiers
where are shops and works Of every
variety, carriage and cart manufac-
turtles, corn and saw mills, iron works,
gas works pOtteries, the new female
prison and the old lazaretto--a very IN
ferno Of heat, smoke and hubbub, which
you gladly leave behind. Then run
ming close to shore, you raise the win
dow Of your compartment TO enjoy the
breezes and gentle ripping of the Me-
dlterranean. There is no dashlng surf
along this coast, hut the great Inland
sea is tranquil az a frog pond, with 1T
tie rise and fall Of the tide At Hus-
sein Dey-so called from a palace
which belonged to the last dey OF
Algiers but Is now Incorporated In the
great government establishment for the
purchase and sale Of tobacco-you en-
ter a region OF market gardens, and
might almost fancy yourself In the
suburbs OF Boston or Chicago. A lit
tie farther on, having passed the juno
tion with the line to Constantine, the
road makes an abrupt turn 10 the west,
following bend of the Harrach river,
and enters the far-famed Metidja. This
IS vast fertile plain, hundred klo-
meters long by twenty-five broad, ly-
ing between the high lands OF the Sa-
hel and the foot hills Of the Atlas
mountains. II Is said that fully thir-
ty thousand Europeans, mostly small
farmers, are now settled In the MetidIa,
and the number is constantly increas-
ing. Several picturesque villages are
passed-Bou Farlk Sidi-Moussa, Roui-
go, Aumale. II time permits, 1t is
well to break your journey for
twenty-four hours, by a stop at
Rouigo, In order 10 visit the
baths OF Hammam Belouan. The viz
lage Is beautifully situated on the first
slopes OF the Atlas, at the point whore
the deep, wide Harrach enters the plain.
The stage road winds through delight
full mountain scenery, the sides Of the
ravines covered with pines, thnyas and
olives, and the river fringed with fra
grant oleanders. The baths. which are
IN high repute all over Europe, because
Of their healing qualities In rheumatic
and outaneous affections--are situated
In an open part Of the valley, IN the
midst Of many acres OF park-like land
with fine old olive and lentsk trees
which form an ideal camping ground
We fonud II full OF tents. and they tell
us that from the middle Of May 20 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 700 francs a month
in fees from the baths. and as the
charge II only Ave centimes a bath, II
follows that $4,000 are taken during
that time No doubt there would be
maDy more, were there better accom-
modations. Az a rule, passing travellers
cannot command camping outfits, and
the one little inn contains only three
wretched bed rooms. There ore two
principal springs. one OF which flows
through rude bath In the ancient
Arab Koubba OF 81 SULLIVAN. and the
other is In a wooden hut behind the au-
berge. Both are dirty and ill-cared for
and being only seven feet by four, II II
difficult 10 understand how a large
number OF visitors who frequent then
can be accommodated, II Is my private
opinion that more diseases are eX'
changed and carried away, than are
cured. Yet there is no doubt that the
waters themselves have remarkable
healing qualities. Hannah Belouan
means ''eolored water" and the name
Is derived from the red deposits of a
small quantity OF iron In solution. The
water has a temperature Of lO3 Fair
and contains a large proportion OF sa'
lire matter. Were 1t properly managed
and all the sources collected into one
decent bathing place, six hundred baths
a day might be available. Here un'
doubtedly, Is a golden opportunity fol
some rheumatic foreigner not only e
get rid OF his physical Ills, but 10 bene'
iii the world and make fortune at the
same time.
The town Of Boufarik, forty miles
from Algiers, near the iron mines OF
co,,rnah has perhnpg 600 inhabitants