The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-04-16

Frank 6. Carpenter.
through them here not far from Benz
oUnif. J have ridden up them on
horseback and the said is almost 4.
solid as that Of the seashore.
The Vegetation OF The Desert.
There arc large regions in the Sa-
hafI which have no vegetation what
ever, but many other parts have grass
during parts Of the year. This is SO
everywhere along the edge of the deS-
ert, ana also along the ~dricd-up water
courses. the beds Of which contain
some moisture. Tn many places there
i a slight rainfall DUNG certain
months. The least water causes the
grass 20 spring up. and the Arabs drive
their lio"kS to such places to pasture
Where the grass viii not grow there
are sometimes thorn bushes which
tuiniSa food for the Camels. ana nearly
every caravan stops from time to time
upon march for such food. Along the
railroad from here to the Atlas Noun
tainS there is in places q thin growth
Of tough grass. and / have seen thou
sands Of animals feeding upon it. The
floctS are usually composed Of both
sheep n goats. and aGg to say.
they are fat. although it would seem
that most Of them are grazing upon
the bare stones.
As to The GASES. ! saw many on my
way here. They arc chiefly date
palms With mud villages inside or
nearby. I have visited q number Of
them, and will make Il special letter
about them in the future.
How the frcncI Control the sahara.
As J have said. the road here was
built for military purposes. 1t is III
absolute necessity to the French con
/ troll Of the sahara. Tho stations along
it are all fortified, and the country for
miles about here is one great lamp.
Every town has its barracks. there
are soldiers at every station. and
troops on horseback and on canele
are moving about everywhere. Benz
Ounif has . garrison of seven hundred.
| \ few hours ride to the ~northWard
is Ain Scfra. where General Lyote. the
| commander Of the French army OF
the Sahara. is located, and there are
| other troops farther south at colOmb
| Rechar. at the end of the road. The
depots are all Of stone, With port holes
for rifles on all sides. Right here is
II Of the most important military
| locations.
The Gate to Morocco.
Benz Ounif is within almost i tones
throw Of IN" Moroccan boundary, and
At the gate TO !; pass through the
mountains which separate Tho dc3Rin-
ions Of the Moorish sultan from Afri-
can France. The French have sub
dued long since the brigands Of their
own parts Of thc sahara, out the brig
andS of the Moroccan desert make
raids upon tsc French oases, and they
| also attack travellers and caravans
going to ana fro oyer tho desert
The base ot such expeditions is the
oasis of TutiICt. in Morocco. not far
from here. where are soina Of the
WORST StouHdr4ls Of this part of the
world. Thes" expeditions arc known
as Hark:ls. They are often composed
1 of hlJnGrEG- and even thousands of
caInclS and men. one which came
through here Il few years ago had
about fcur thousand men mounted on
| cameIs and = iTarka Of live hundred
| carnclS is not uncommon. At this
| Writing repocts have come here that
the governor Of Tatlct has declared
| Il holy war and that an army on cGm-
| els VIII soon march across into the
| Algerian sahara and attack the
French ~outposts.
The Battle of Figuig.
! 1T Was q harka like this that brought
! about the battle of Figuig, named af-
ter an oasis about eight miles FROM
here, where it took place. FlguiS IS
one of the richest settlements Of west
ern Morocco. 1t has about II million
date trees and its people have always
been noted for their prosperity and
trade. They are also famous as ha-
tcrS Of Christians and until lately it
was death 20 such to enter their GASES.
! About lHtht Years ago. Wlen the G1li-
road had not Yet reached this point.
the governor general of Algeria made
an expedition from the end of the
road at DuVerier to Benz Ounif. and
started thence Oh an expedition to Fig
uig. He WAS accompanied by u de-
tachmcnt OF Spaleis, the brayest OF
| these African soldiers. and three COM
panies Of the foreign legion. under the
command of General O'Conner. 1t
was then Wei known that any Chris
tan who went into Figuig did SO ut
the risk of his life: and one of the
Arab officials OF the town warned the
governor general that he d better
keep out. He did not heed the warm
ing. and the result was 4 fight which
lasted fxr hours. after which the
French retreated.
This battle WAS entirely With rifles
on both sides. and the Moors thought
they were equal to anything the french
could bring forth. \ j or SO later
the foreign legion ana three s~quadronS
| of cavalry appeared. thcir force alto
gcther numbering forty-five hundred.
They brought with them Il number Of
mountain guns and other cannon, ana
placing these more than Il mile away
they opened fire upon the oasis. and
its villages with melinite shells. The
result ~aStoundcd the natives. Their
mud brick houses were blown to
atoms. and the minarctS OF their NOS
que cut in two.
The MoorS had never heard or seen
| ANYTHING like this. and they soon came
almost on their knees to beg the
| French to desist. Since then the ia'l-
road has been extended 10 Benz
Ounif, and within Two years q thriving
settlement has grown up .ierc. r.'Gnt Ut
| no y3to to the pass. Figuig is now
| safe for a traveller. if he is accom-
panied by French soldiers. and the
| Frcncll arc even building a wagon
! road to that place.
IN Army Of Camel Police.
The Ftcuch Sahara alone Is atto-
gctDer more than half as large as Tue
whole United States. 1t extenuS from
the Iibyan desert 10 Morocco ana as