Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-13

Since then the railroad has been extended
to Benz Ounif, and within two years a
thriving settlement has grown up here,
right at the gate to the pass. Figuig Is
now safe for a traveller. IL he is acconpa-
MED by French soldiers. and the French
are even building a wagon road to that
place.
An Army Of Camel Police.
The French Sahara alone is altogether
more than half as large as the whole United
states. 1t extends from the Libyan desert
10 Morocco and as far south as the Soudan.
The French have made this whole region
peaceful. and 1t Is now possible 10 travel
almost anywhere through it, They have
troops stationed at every large oasis and
have camel soldiers Securing the country
and helographng the least sign OF disturb
ance. These camel police are natives
mounted on meharis-beasts which can go
100 miles day after day without firing
Many Of the camel police are Tuarcgs who
ma It pays better TO be employed by the
French than to rob the caravans them
selves, as they did in the past; others are
Targhis, from n warlke tribe IN the cast
ern part of the Algerian Sahara. These
troops patrol the country all the way from
1rlpoli to Morocco. They act as scouts for
the French officers. and are ready To fight
bravely in time of trouble \ large number
OF them are now watching the pass here.
They go about at wide distances apart and
prlng IN reports of the conditions existing
all along the desert frontier.
The French have established Il sort Of
mail service for the Sahara. The Arab
postmen carry mail bags these fast me-
harris. Every mil tary station is thus served
and in some places. such as Colomb Bechar
and Adrar there post offices. where
money orders are issued and regular mail
service is given. Among the important sta
tions are those of Tuat which is large
series of GASES several hundred miles south
of here. There are soldiers also at Tidi-
ket. at Igel and at many other places.
The Foreign Legion.
Here al Benz Ounf is a branch Of the
foreign legion. made up of Germans. Swiss
Italians and Americans. There are also
several companies of military criminals who
have been deported from France and sent
down from other parts of Algeria for pun
ishment. These men put 10 making
roads. bridges and all kinds of hard labor.
l met one last night in Moorish cafe who
told me he was American. His COM
plexion was that of a mulatto. but he wore
the red trousers. blue Jacket and tall red
cap of the Spahi. ard l took him for an
Arab. ] was drinking coffee at one OF the
ia bles when he sat down beside me and be-
gan Is speak English. He told me that lie
came from San Francisco. that he had
served as a marine in the French navy
and had finally drifted into thc-srmy. He
said that the food and treatment were
so bad that he could not stand ii, and that
his pay was only one cent a day. Finally,
he deserted and succeeded in getting to
the Mediterranean. where he had hidden
himself away in the hold of a German
steamer. Just as the ship was raising
anchor the military police came on board
ana discovered him. through a Hndoo
cabin boy. who pointed out his hiding place
He was then put in prison at the port or
Namours. where the sheriff set him to
cleaning his horses. One day he took the
best horse in the stable and rode across
into Morocco to Melilla. There he again
tried to get off. this time Spanish
ship. He was again caught, however. and
shipped down here into the heart OF the
Sahara. He is expecting to be sent on into
the desert far from the railroad.
The Tuaregs as Police.
understand that the Tuaregs are doing
the best work of all the Arabs employed by
the French. They have been organized
into companies and have been given good
modern guns. They have practically given
up brGandage. and they now sweep over
the desert mounted on camels aiding the
French in keeping the natives in order.
The French captain who is chief of the
Arab bureau here tells me that they are
by no means a bad people and that their
bloodthirstiness is largely a matter OF
Imagination 1t Is true they have been
robbers in the past, but now that they are
employed by the government they make
splendid soldiers They are paid from
twenty to twenty-four dollars month. and
this is fortune to them. Each man owns