The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-09-28
REMARKABLE JOURNEY IN TINE
SAHARA.

rine OF the French military staff In the Tuai
GASES has just made In the Sahara, covering
a distance Of 800 miles in four months
from March to June, this year, Is very note
worthy for two reasons. In the first place
when he was approaching the Sudan and
| was within about 1870 miles Of Timbuktu
his destination. he met by the merest acci-
dent Capt. Theveniaut OF the Colonial
infantry in the First Sudanese Territory,
as France calls the district Of which Tim
buktu Is the chief town, who forbade his
brother officer from the north to go any
further. AS one OF the military officials
in the Sudan he claimed the right to debar
whomsoever he pleased from entering ID,
and he drew the line at the Commandant
from the French force OF occupation in
Tuat. There was very bad feeling over
the matter, but Laperrine concluded to sub
init and made his way back to his starting
point by cirouitous route TO the east.
The second matter Of interest Is OF far
more Importance. Laperrine has returned
with scientific data showing that many Of
the wells, GASES and routes that are found
on our best maps on the authority Of tray-
eflers within the past sixty years, are far
out OF their proper position, some Of them as
much as 100 miles or more. Mistakes 80
egregious have scarcely been made in any
other part Of Africa, and the revisedmap Of
the Sahara. when 1t Is completed, will have
very different appearance from our pres
ent maps.
THE SUN has already described the new
methods Of travel that have enabled the
French completely to revolutionize the
ways OF Saharan exploration. They have
discarded the cumbrous baggage train
that had its elimination in the thousand
canels that Foureau drove across the des-
ert few years ago. They have adopted
the methods Of the Tuaregs, who select and
breed camels for feetness and train them to
travel more than twice the distance in a day
that the ordinary camel can make. They
march lightly laden, for they can reach
wells and Gases in two or three days that
were formerly unattainable in less than a
week or two.
In this march, Laperrine had with him
only three brother officers Prof. vii
latte. the astronomer, and seventy-hve
meharistes, as the native soldiers of the
French on their feet camels are called. 1t
took Foureau over year to cross the des-
ert with all that was left Of his 1 600 camels;
but Laperrine, marching southeast toward
Timbuktu, was within 1870 miles of that
Sudanese city in ten weeks and he returned
by longer route in six weeks. He found
water and pasturage and lived almost
wholly of the resources Of the desert.
Most Of the natives they met were Tuaregs.
but the Tuareg problem has disappeared,
for the French are able now to catch them
on their raids. The bandits of the Sahara
have become suppliants for peace and
friendship and are helping instead OF hind
ering every French advance into the des-
ert. The story OF the Sahara for the past
three years abounds with remarkable facts
that justify the old saying 1T is the unex-
pected that always happens in Africa.
The pacs was not too fast for Prof VIII |
atte OF fEcole Sup6rieure in Algiers, with |
the very best Of astronomical equipment, |
TO fix the position Of forty three places |
and the discovery he made greatly aston
ished the party Every place but one
whose position he determined, IL shown
on the present map. is much too far to the
west. Timissao, for example, should be
placed 155 miles to the southeast OF the
place whore II appears on the maps. On
the other hand, Ideles should be moved
about a degree OF longitude to the west
The result Is that all the itineraries and
routes which we see on the maps
through the central and western Sahara
ire hopelessly wrong; and there must be
Wholesale revision Of the mapping OF the
.outes. GASES and wells in this vast part OF
he desert
The reason assigned for these blunders
8 that the white men who made them fol-
owed zigzag courses, were usually under
tress either because OF enemies or OF fail
ng water or food supplies, had erv imper-
ect instruments. and most OF the men we're
lot skilled in using suon appliances as they
,ossessed.
1t is easy to see the embarrassment that
his situation imposes If French expe-
lition wishes to leave one route and strike
cross to well or an oasis on another.
hey cannot be sure that the compass direc-
ion taken from the map will lead them 10
he point they are seeking. Information
hat misleads is worse than none at all:
nd SO the officers In the desert forces of
rance are saying that not a party should
% sent out without adequate appliances
or fixing the astronomical position OF
very place Of importance which they
isit. These appliances will be provided,
nd 1t Ia certain that in a few years the
'rench will greatly change the map Of the
ahara.
Laperrine's party cannot get over the
ebutf they met from their oompatriots In
he desert. They say that IL the Sudanese
fficiaf had met German or an English
,ission from Morocco or Tripoli he would
OF have cast stone in their way. But
'rench military party from another field of
ervioe daring TO intrude on his preserves!
o he sent the tricolor trailing back north.
remains to be seen whether the French
Government will sustain Capt Theveniaut
, his very interesting proceeding.