The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-07-07
An Eighty Mile Ride Through inc Farms
 and Deserts of Eastern TuniSia


I wish I could show you the scene of our departure. and the crowd that gath cred outside the walls to see the yellow devil" start off. The yellow devil" as call it, is q great golden automobile, which has just been brought here from Paris to carry first-clags passengers from Sousse to Sfax. It Is of French make, shaped like an old Concord coach. with three seats on the top, six inside, and one in front for the chauffeur. It's motive power is gasoline, and on starting 1t groans and puffs and blows. like the de- mon it is, sending chills of fear down the backs of the natives.
 Take a seat with me on the top and ride through the wild scenes of north eastern Africa. We are higher up than the roofs of those huts by the road side, and away above the motley crowd of Arabs, watching the start. Now the yellow devil' Is trembling; the chauf- incur has turned crank which let on the powerl Now he blows his horn. Honk! Honk! We are off.
 Honk Honkl We are flying about the high walls of Sousse. the men and beasts in tho road turnning to get out of our way.
 IIonl5 Honk! See those two black ob- jects who are almost under the wheels they are Arab women clad in crape so frightened that their veils have fallen 
 pear.
 Honk Honk! See that crowd of chill dren sCamper One boy has lost his red fez car but he runs on and on.
 Honk Honkl We are passing an en- campment of Arab soldiersl The men are drying their wash on the grass. and they wave their wet garments at us as we go by.
 Farming Scenes.
 No vua baH laft ha he of se and are far out on the plains. We are travelling through olive orchards. They cover the country for miles. Sousse makes salad oil for shipment to all the world; and it has been noted for It's olives since the days of the Carthaginians Indeed most of the trees ok old enough to have been planted long before Christ. They are kno.ty and gnarly; but their wide-spread- ing green branches are loaded with fruit. The orchards are interspersed with grain fields and pastures; and the automobile frightens the men at the blows and also the animals which feed near the roadside
 Honk. Honk! See those black sheeep win their fat tails Hopping, as they gal 10 over the fields! The ewes are running as fast as they can, with the little lambs tagging behind. Now we are passing flock where the rams are putting the ewes to make the: get out of the way.
 Honk. Honkl See those camels canter- ing over the plain They look like inter- rogation points upon legs. Nearer the road are some which are dragging blows through the furrov's. They are in har- ness, away off from the road, and their ba ks are turned to the automobile Now they SC and break away in 0 panic dragging with them the forked sticks used here as blows. We see hun dreds of camels during our journey. We meet tEem on the road carrying great burdens. which they almost lose as they gallop out of the way. We see them hcbbled in the fields, and they stand out like gl eat yellow ostriches against the sky of the horizon.
 Among the Bedoins.
 Farther on we reach the edge of the desert We pass Arab encampments. The low black tents become alive as we ap proach. Bedouin women. clad in turkey red gowns, crawl out from under the tent curtains. and gaily claid children loaded with jewelry stand and stare at our automobile. There are Bedouin girls,