The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-05-11
Dr.. Frank Edward Johnson Returns from Ex-
ploration Trip Into Northern Africa and
Tells of People and Customs There.

small buildings of masonry. Odd though
Ii may appear, this town has a great
reputation for cookery, and one Of its
most famous chefs was summoned to
Rome a few years ago and made chief
pastry cook to Pope Leo XIII.
French Solve Problem.
Quite as interesting as these honey
combed mountain peaks are certain
towns of the same region. but in the
i plains beneath, which may be said to
consist of habitations built in imitation
of caves. When constructed singly they
have the form OF half-cylinders. with
the convex side UP. but commonly they
are superposed to a height of four or
five stories. Many OF these curious
structures are storehouses, while others
are for domiciliary purposes. There are
no stairs inside or outside. but the in
habitants go up or down the fronts with
east, ascending or descending by the
help of projecting stones which have
been worn smooth by centuries of use.
Sallust, the Roman historian, who
wrote about so B. c., in giving an ac-
count Of his travels in Northern Africa.
spoke of coming to strange country
where ''the people dwell in curious
abodes resembling overturned boats"
Evidently it was to these very folk-to
their ancestors, that is to say-that he
referred. The houses in question are
composed of cement and pebbles There
is nothing like them to be seen anywhere
else in the world, and it is not unreason-
able to imagine that their ancient &C.
cupants were the original inventors of
concrete for building construction.
DR.. Johnson says that there are per-
haps 10000 Of these people in the plains
of Southern Tunisia. One OF their towns,
which he visited, is called Medenine.
Another. known as Metameur, is Of the
same general description, and its women
are famous for their beauty. Like the
mountain villages, each of these centers
Of population has a combined store
house and fort for purposes of defense.
The people. whether Of the mountains
or of the plains, are an Arab race,
known as Berbers. In former days their
tribes were continually at war, each viii
lage being at daggers drawn even with
its nearest neighbors. But most dreaded
of all were the robber Touaregs, raw
ayers of the desert. who, swooping down
on their racing camels when least ex-
pected, were accustomed to carry OF
food supplies and portable property, to-
gether with the good-looking young
women, and to murder everybody else,
including children.
This sort OF thing is not permitted
any longer however thanks to the inter-
ference of the French, who, as one
means of pacifying the country, have
established n great semi-weekly market
on a convenient and inviting oasis, to
which the people come from great dis
tances to buy and to sell. 1t is today
the principal meeting place of the frog
lodytes, or cave jewellers, of all Southern
Tunisia, and there the members Of tribes
which have been for many centuries at
swords points, make friendship with one
another. 1t is a practical application of
the principle that hostility nearly al
ways arises from lack of acquaintance.
Necessarily the natives most exposed
to attacy by Touaregs were those who
inhabited certain subterranean villages
wherein pits, or holes in the ground, took
the place Of mountain caves or boat
shaped houses. One such place, called
Matmata, is thirty miles south of Gabcs
a French garrison town on the African
side of the Mediterranean. 1t has a pop
ulat.on of 5,Oo0. and there is not house
in sight, all of the dwellings being UNI
derground.
Resort is had to. this method of domicii-