Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-20

the people of this -the-way land.
Each of these GASES has it's own little viii
lage, and every little desert settlement is
community of it's own kind. The villages
of Figuig seven. The first and largest
contains more than 5000 people. 1t Is
known as Zenaga. The next largest is Ell
Oudagahir, and the third is FL Abid. which
l have described as having the hot springs
and as furnishing water for the greater
part of the Fguig plantations. In addi
ton to these villages there are four others
They are named Ell Maiz Foukan, Ell Maiz
Tahtani, Ell Hannah Foukani and Ell
Hamman Tahtani.
These seven Figuig villages have alto
gether about 5000 inha bitants. They are
separate towns, but together constitute a
little United States of their own, with a
congress but no president. Each village
governs itself and a common council of
the combined villages governs the GASES.
The village governments each consist of
council of seventeen members. five of
whom are land owners and twelve of
whom are laborers They are all elected
by the people of the village. Three mem
bers of each council are elected to a gen
eral council of twenty-one, which passes
only upon matters which relate to the
whole corporation of Figug. The village
councils regulate all things affecting their
respective villages. They appoint the local
Judges and make the town laws AS to
matters of peace and war with villages out
oasis council, and the same body regulates
NIL matters regarding the water supply.
In Ell Abid
But come with ME and look at one OF
these GASES communities. We shall go
through the town OF FL Abld. observing
some of the things 1 saw there this after
noon. The municipality contains about
1900 souls. but it is nothing like any town
of that size in our country. In the first
place 1 doubt whether 1t covers more than
twenty acres; and, as one looks at It
through the palm trees he sees only the
| mud walls which inclose it, with the fiat
| rooted, windowless mud buildings rising
here and there above them
We enter the town by gate in the wall.
! II Is not over ten feet high and about five
feet in width, and 1t is shut at night by
rough doors OF palm wood hung on rude
wooden hinges. There are two gates to the
town. and outside of them some
c;ifneis, part of a caravan which has lust
come from the desert, are now living on tho
ground chewing their cud while their Arab
driver sits meditating among his freight.
when ne has unloaded for the time. AS We
go IN through the gate we pass donkeys
loaded with grain and sugar and turning
thls way and that, find ourselves in da ri
covered streets, in which we might lose our
way had we not our soldiers and Mr. pas
calet to guide u.s. 80
The town Of Ell Abid reminds one If the
cataeombs There are houses built over
the streets with only here and there a hole
Tor the light. Outside is the fierce ela re
or tho African sun; here, In the main
streets of Ell Abid, 1t is almost as darL . g
in some subterranean cavern or In the tomb
! or II, above Cairo, in the valley of the
Nile. ' vi ZIG
Tho streets cut the town at all sorta of
| angles Some are too narrow for horses
| ana one has to get down and go throueb
them on foot. The houses have no win
dows facing the street and thew are on
tered only by low doors OF palm wood In
some OF the wider streets lodges have heen
built along the walls, and upon these
shrouded figures lie and sleep or sit cross
| legged and chat. Here and there mon
| squat on the ground, hugging the walls
| whilo working away at their trades I no
/ ticed several taiiors making gowns. a cob
| bier or so sewing on yellow slippers and
also one or two peddlers. There were MANY
| little boys with sore heads closely shaven
and sore eyes with files playing about them
They stopped and stared at us and as we
passed many Arabs with boards scowled at
us and The camera. There were no wome,
| TO be seen, although now and then caught
| a glimpse Of sheeted figures which ran ont
| of our way. In the Jewish quarter l saw
| same bare-faced girls with earrings as big
around as the bottom Of pint cup The
Jewish men were dressed like the Arabs
With the Moors at Home.
| The town of Zenaga. which we next Wis
1 tied, was Of about the same character as
! Ell Abid save that its streets were a little
wider and IT had business section This
ran about a square which could not hava
covered more than a quarter of an acre. !
have seen many a stable ward oIIite a.