The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-04-23

win the sheI! on. saw many cluSt-
er-. any one of which. / ara sure. held
. half bushel OF dates. and nat 8 fe~
tres bore "a half dozen clusters or
NOR. some of the dates ar" no"
rio. and -. ate them fresh from the
trees. They are as sweet a. honey
ana their flavor cannot be Imagined
by those VI have only tasted ne
lnushy black dates nf grocery
stores
Under these palms. apricots. peaches
pears. p"megranates and ether such
fruits were growing: and below them
in Sofne places. We're vegetables. three
crops being produced on ths same
soil at the same time.
Outside the date plantations we're
unirrigated fields In which grain had
been planted to take advantage "I the
slight rainfall which comes her"
tain months Of the year. helleNr
hint these fields are also given some
water from the springs.
The Lumber Of flIe Gases.
AZ vc went on with our Journey W."
could see how important the date
palm is TO these people Of The desert
IL is their bread, fireWOod and lumber.
The bitches here and there crossed the
streets and in such cases there Wer"
bridges of palm wood. l observed
the doors which go into the walls Of
the date gardens. Each has but one
and that not higher than my waist.
Indeed some doors are - low that
the common raZOr-back hog would
lose his bristles if ne should try 10 60
Though them. These gates are 81
palm planks; they are sawed out by
hand and pcgged rudely together. The
date tree forms the pillars which up
hold the house roofs. it is used rs
beams and ~rafters and it is made into
ladders for the watch towers. IhcS
towers are Of mud brick, but there IS
more or less palm wood in them, alt,
the platforms, on which the spies ST.
al time Of date harvest TO guard the
crop against thieves, are of the same
material.
! was much interested in the palm
trees. They look ragged and rough.
ON the taller trees there are no leaves
kept at the top, and | am told tina
each ring Of bark represents q yetr :
growth. If this is true many OF the
palms must be a century old. TOY
begin to ear at ten or twelve N~aI%
and yield crops thereafter every two
years. The dates here are not as good
as those of some other parts of 1hc
sahara. There are better one n
Tuat. in Tougurt and in BiSkra. |
shall learn more about them as I go
on with my travels.
The Village Republic of Figuig.
Stranger even than the palm trees
are the people Of this Out-Of-the-WaN
land. Each of these GASES has its
w little village, and every little des-
ert settlement is a community of is
own kind. The Villages of Figuis
are seven. The first and largest con
tains more than 5000 people. 1t IS
known as Zenaga. The next largest
IS FL O-dagahir. The next largest
Abid. which | have described as haV-
ing the hot springs and as furnishing
water for the greater part Of the
Figuig plantations. In addition 10
these villages there are four others.
They are named FL Maiz, Tahtani, Tl
Hamman FOukani and Ell Hamman
Tahtani.
These seven Figuig villages have
altogether about $1,000 inhabitants
They are separate towns out together
constitute a little United States Of
their own, with a congress, but no
president. Each village governs Itself
and q common council of the COM
bined villages governs the GASES. The
village governments each consists of a
council of members, i've
of whom are land owners and twelve
of whom are labOrerS. They are all
elected by the people of the village.
Three members Of each council are
elected to a general council of TWEEN.
ty-One, which passes only upon mat
tiers which relate to the whole cOrpOr-
alton of Figuig. The village councils
regulate all things respecting Their
respective villages. They appoint the
local judges and make the town laws
AS to matters of peace n war with
villages outside of Figuig these are
dealt with by the GASES council, and
the same body regulates all matter
regarding the village water supply.
In FL Abid.
But come with me and look at one
of these GASES communities. We shai'
go through the town of FL Abid, OBJ
serving some of the things saw there
this afternoon. The municipality
contains about 1000 souls, but is no
thing like any town of that size in our
country. In the first place | dOuDt
whether it cover more than 20 acres:
as one looks at it through the palm
which enclose it with the flat rooted.
w~indowless mud buildings rising her
and there above them.
We enter the town by a gate in the
wall. 1t is not over ten feet high and
about five feet in width, and it is shut
at night by rough doors of palm Wood
hung on rude wooden hinges. There
are two gates to the town, and out
side one of them some camels, a par
of a caravan which has just come
from the desert. are lying on the
ground chewing their cud while their
Arab driver sits meditating among
his freight, which he has unloaded for
the time. AS We go in through thc
gate we pass dOnkeys loaded with
grain and sugar, and turning this way
and tina find ourselves in dark GOV
cred streets, in which we might lose
our way had we not our soldiers aEd
Mr.. PaScalet to guide us.
The town of Ell Abid reminds one
Of the catacOmbs. There are houses
built over the streets, With only here
and there a hole for the light. OtSid.
is the free glare of the African SUI:
Here. in the main streets of Ell Adj
it is almost as dark as in some sub
terranean caVerns or in the Tomb ol