Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-11-14

lshed a large number of schools in Tunis,
and in the interior have 500 primary
schools. of which one-third are for teach
ing girls. The bulk of the population IS
Mohammedan, and these girls schools are
to a large extent a new thing. Tunisia has
now QUO miles of railway and several thou
sand miles of telegraph lines 1t has a small
trade with the United States, ten days be-
ing required to go from Tunis to New York.
The French in the Sahara.
One of the Gueerest possessions of the
French is the Desert of Sahara. They claim
to own the whole western half of it, hav-
ing a territory about half as large as the
United States proper, comprising hundreds
of GASES and the best caravan routes. A big
trade is carried on across the French Sa-
hara from the rich countries of the Soudan
south of it to Algeria and Tunisia, and it is
now proposed to build railroad over these
sandy wastes. This railroad will be about
as long as from New York to Salt Lake.
1t Will go from the Mediterranean south
ward into the Sahara, and will then branch
out, one line going to Lake Chad, where it
will connect with a line to DahOmey and
the Atlantic and the other going in a south
westwardly direction to Timbuktu and the
regions of the Upper Niger. The road can
never be more than a military one. and it
is doubtful whether it would pay its run
ming expenses.
In the Desert.
Today all travel across the desert is by
camels. The beasts are raised especially
for freightng, and there is a regular bust
ness of breeding them for caravan travel.
There are freight animals and passenger
animals, the latter having gait as easy
as that of a good saddle horse. A good rid
ing camel is worth $780, and a good freight
animal can be bought for $50. Many Of the
caravans have five hundred camels, fifty
thousand camels coming every year across
the Sahara to Timbuktu. These caravan
routes are well laid out railroads
routes There are no special tracks but the
guides understand just where to go and
they aim to take in the chief GASES on the
way.
The French metropolis of the northern
Sahara is the oasis of Biskra. which is
reached by railroad from Algiers. Here
there is quite & large foreign colony, nu-
merous French and other Europeans go
ing there for their health.
Bskra is 100 miles south of Constan-
tine, and 1t takes a days ride on the
train to reach it. The oasis is three miles
long and not more than half mile
wide at its widest place. 1t is one of the
largest of the French GASES, having a pop
ulation of about 10000, including 1000
French troops and about 1000 civil Euro
peans, mostly French and Italians. The
place is noted for its dates of which it
has 100000 trees, producing about 5000
tons of dates every year. The trees are
carefully irrigated and each tree is taxed
by the government.
French Soudan and Timbuktu.
The French have an enormous territory
known as the French Soudan, lying south
Of the western part Of the Sahara. This
strip goes half way across the continent,
the British territories of Nigeria, the Gold
Coast and Sierra Leone, and also Liberia
and the Kameruns being cut out of it. 1t
reaches the Atlantic ocean in several places
and embraces the French Congo, Dahomey
and Senegal.
This territory is practically unexplored
but it is being rapidly opened up. A mill
tary government mas been established at