The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-08-29
NEW ROCKS.
r,. Yelled BrISands OF tho Sahara.

,oininn book OF travel dealing with strange
"ndlnteresting people, by Mr.. w. J. Hard
Ino King, an Englishman. The Touaregs,
Nv ravareks, az Mr.. King spells IL in imita-
,on Of the Arab pronunciation-are a race
~ rarauding nomads of Berber origin,
,h.t roam the trackless waste Of the Sa-
h,ra far away to the south OF Algeria.
Their name In Arabic means "God-for-
saken.' They inhabit territory OF about
,bs sarne size as Russia, and from time
N time sally forth from the desert,
cantvrs a French convoy, cripple an ex-
nlorins party or raid an Arab camp or cara
van and then vanish mysteriously into the
Great Unknown, leaving only manRled
corpses 70 mark their apparition. Their
country covers over a million and half Of
acuare miles, Of which vast area It Is esti-
mated that less than three thousand acres
ore under cultivation. The French lay
claim to tho whole region, and French
publishers issue maps In which the Sahara
Il nainted red TO mark it as French pos
session but the Tawareks rule It and laugh
At all efforts to take their country from them
Sometimes driven by lack of water or
scarci,v of fodder for their herds, they
encamp near the northern edge Of the
Sahara. and II was in search Of one of these
camps that Mr.. King set forth from Biskra.
His object was to study this strange race
and primarily to obtain some photographs
ot their faces, (which were badly wanted
bv scientists and which might do something
to clear up the much-disputed origin of
the Berber tribes" The difficulty lay not
c,l, t>,,k sy, ha Po hat
the men Of the race keep their faces rigor-
c,sly concealed by a mask from the gaze
Of even the members Of their own family
circle. With couple Of Arab guides and
well-aden camel, Mr.. King set out into
the desert on his quest. u ia fascinat-
Ing Journey that we take with him and there
Ia not dull moment in IL, for he is the
cheeriest of travelling companions. With
clear blue sky overhead, brilliant sunshine
and warm and invigorating air, the Sahara
In springtme is a pleasant place to travel
In and is by no means the barren and mo-
notonous waste that we imagine it. Herds
Of gazelle and innumerable coveys Of sand
grouse afford fair sport and keep the larder
well supplied, and even the unsavoriness
Of Arab cooking is forgotten in the appe-
tite created by the exhilarating atmos-
phere Numerous caravans are met with,
and all sorts of picturesque and interesting
folk At the GASES and the oaravansaries
We see the fortune tellers, drsught players,
snake charmers, KGbob cookers, vendors
Of sour milk, and oil and date merchants
a motley horde.
AT the market places caravans from all
parts Of the neighboring deserts and Gases
gather once a week. bringing dates, grain,
feeces. live stock tent cloth and the beauti-
full woollen carpets woven by the nomad
women in their tents Here. at these al
fresco bazaars. are huge sun hats of straw
worked with oolored woods, little glass tubes
Of altar Of roses alum for curing skins
simbel for pertaining dead bodies, dried
pumpkin rind for dyeing purposes, the
roots Of desert shrub for cleaning the
teeth. kohl. henna. dried roses. incense
and queer odds and ends of every sort
After a long journey due south and
many disappointments, Mr.. King dis
covered a small Tawarek encampment
near FL Wad. The yelled men were not
prepossessing lot. They were all flthily
dirty, but extremely dignifed.
When they moved about, says Mr.. King,
they did not walk; Athey stalked very
slowly about, with the air Of leading
tragedisn playing Hamlet Here is his
description OF one Of them:
He was enormously tall. From the crown Of
his head TO his feet he was dressed even IN this
country. where every one for the sake Of GOODNESS
clothes himself In white. entirely in black A
pair OF remarkably well shaped hands and few
Snaky looking locks Of black hair protruding
above his head coverings were the only portions
OF his person 20 DO seen.
His face was entirely concealed by black mask.
consisting of strip of black cotton wrapped twice
Mound his head In such q manner that the edges
Of the two folds met over tho bridge of his nose.
A Tawarek never washes. He not only
considers 1t a waste to use water which
might be drunk in this manner, but thinks
II unsanitary TO do SO. as It renders him
more susceptible to the violent changes
Of temperature Of the Sahara. Such alb
lntions as are necessary for his religious
observances he performs with sand or a
stone. Sometimes he rubs himself with
indigo, which, says Mr.. King, has the
double effect OF protecting his skin and
making him look cooler. and consequently,
in his opinion, more beautiful.
Mr. King photographed some Of the
women, and then after much persuasion Sue
ceeded in getting one young man to remove
his mask and took q couple Of excellent
pictures, The portraits show the Tawarek
TO be a pleasant looking chap, with good
features. He kept his eyes closed. No
sooner was his mask of than all his haughti-
ness and dignity were gone. He looked,
says the author, -as shamefaced and con-
fused as an ordinary Englishman would il
he were compelled 10 appear in public
In the airy costume Of his morning bath.
That 'brigand Of the Sahara, great, strap
ping fellow as he was. positively blushed
q deep, ruddy brown at the indignity which
he was made to undergo in exposing his
face to stranger. He hung his head
and turned his face aside In q torment OF
outraged modesty and bashfulness which.
though extremely ludicrous, YVES almost
pitiful TO see The book is illustrated |
with numerous photographs taken by the
author and has a map showing his route
through the desert. Several authors,
English and French, have written about the
yelled men, but none more interestingly
than Mr.. King, who is probably the first |
white man TO have seen a Tawarek with face |
uncovered.
Buying a Bear.
In 1889 the editor Of San Francisco |
newspaper sent Mr.. Allen Kelly out to !
fcb IA L Il. l.