The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-11-15

II is connected by railway with .Alsiers
and Gran and by caravan with all parts
of the Sahara.
The population of Tunisia is almost q
100000. consisting chiefly Of Bedouin Arabs,
Berbers and about 61.O0 Jews.
There are also 10000 Frenchmen and S2.0OO
other foreigners. of whom 5000 are
altar
i The French have been doing much to de-
velop education there.
They have established a large number
of schools in Tunis. and in the interior
have 500 primary schools. of which one
third are for teaching girls.
The bulk of the population Is Molram-
medan. and these girls schools are to u
large extent a new thing.
Tunisia has now GOO miles of railway
and several thousand miles of telegraph
lines.
1t has n small trade with the United
States. ten days being required to go from
Tunis to New York.
one OF the queerest possessions of the
French Is the Desert of Sahara.
They claim to own the whole western
half of 1T, having a territory about half
as large as the United States proper. COM
Fflsing hundreds of GASES and the best
caravan routes.
a big trade is carried on across the
French Sahara from the rich countries of
the soudan south of it to Algeria and
Iunisia. and it is now proposed to build a
railroad over these sandy wastes.
This railroad will be about as long as
from New York to Salt Lake.
RoAD MAY NEVER PAY
RUNNING EXPENSES.
1t will go from the Mediterranean south
ward into the Sahara. and will then
branch out. one line going to Lake Chad.
"here 1t VIII connect with a line to Da-
money and the Atlantic. and the other GO
ing in a southwestern dly direction to Tim.
puktu and the regions of the Upper Niger.
The road can never Be more than n
military one. and it is doubtful whether IL
would pay its running expenses.
To-day all travel across the desert is nv.
camels. "
The beasts are raised especially for
freiShting, and there Is a regular BUSH
ness of breeding them for caravan travel.
There are freight animals and passen-
ger animals. the latter having n gait as
easy as that of a good saddle horse.
A good riding camel is worth 500. and n
good freight animal can be bought for $50.
Many OF the caravans have 600 cameIs,
$1,000 camels coming every year across the
Sahara to Timbuctu.
These caravan routes are as we'll laid
out as railroad routes.
There are no special tracks, but the
guides understand just where to go, and
they aim to tax In the chief GASES on the
way.
The French metropolis of the Northern
Sahara is the oasis of Biska, which is
reached by railroad from Algiers. Here
there is quite a large foreign colony, nu-
merous French and other Europeans go
ing there for their health.
biskra is $50 niles south Of Constantine.
n 1t takes a days ride on the train
to reach 1t.
The oasis is three miles long and not
more than q half'a mile wide at its widest
place.
1t is n Of the largest of the French
GASES. having a population of about 10, LOW.
including 1.UO French troops and about |
1,2NO civil Europeans, mostly French and
Italians. The place is noted for its dates, |
of which 1t has 160.00O trees, producing |
about 5000 tons of dates every Year.
The trees are carefully irrigated and
each tree is taxed by the Government
FRENCH soUDAN TERRITORY
AND TIMBUKTU.
known as the French Soudan, lying south |
of the western part of tho Sahara.
This strip goes half way across the con-
tinent, the British territories Of Nigeria, |
the Gold Coa and Sierra Leone and also |
Liberia and the kameruns being cut out
Of 1t.
It reaches the Atlantic Ocean in several
places and embraces the French Congo.
Dahomey n Senegal.
This territory is practically unexplored.
but 1t is being rapidly opened up.
A military government has been estab- |
lished at Timbuktu and along the Niger,
and the other provinces are governed
from Dakar In Senegal.
1t is at Dak hat the French Governor
General of West Africa lives. and there
arc the chief offices with secretaries and
clerks.
Each province has n Lieutenant Gov
but all report to the Governor Gem
eral at Dakar.