El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-08-19

AA II the Allies win the war.
w France and England will to-
gether own nearly the whole OF Africa,
Germany being eliminated from the
Dark Continent. They are already
making plans to cooperate in the rapid
development Of that enormous territory.
and one OF the projects contemplated
in the flooding Of great part Of the
Saraha Desert
This, from an engineering viewpoint,
will not be q very difficult affair. In
the western Sahara there is q vast de-
preston. OF sink" 200 feet below the
level Of the ocean. and covering an area
OF about 10000 square miles. All that
IS necessary is to cut a canal six miles
long. in order to let the sea into 1t
The depression is called by the Arabs
Fl Juf. or the Great Hollow. It Is a
level plain extending from the vicinity
Of Cape JUDY Con the northwest coast.
directly opposite the Canary islands)
southeast to within 100 miles Of Tim
buctoo. Its greatest breadth (12O
miles) is toward the south. To the
northwest II gradually narrows term
mating in the dry channel which rep
-esents its former connection with the
Atlantic
Once An Island Sea.
Not much more than 1000 years ago
e Juf was an island sea-in fact an
arm Of the Atlantic Ocean But the
entrance channel 80 miles north OF Cape
JUDY was. at about that time. blocked
by sand: the waters of the gulf that
occupied the Great Hollow were dried
up by evaporation, and the area was
transformed into a desert The pro-
position now is to make cutting
through the sand bar. run out jetties
TO prevent further accommodations OF
sand. and so restore the old condition
of affairs. Nothing could be more sim
pie
When this has been accomplished.
there will be direct navigation from
Europe by steam or sail, across the
present desert nearly 10 the upper
reaches OF the Niger Fleets of mer-
chantmen will voyage over the con-
Quered Sahara From the port OF
Narseille 2 water trip Of 400 miles will
bring the traveller within a short dis
lance Of Timbuctoo. the mysterious
city that was never even seen by
white man until less than a century
ago
Now Hopeless Region.
FL Juf is today hopeless region
destitute Of vegetable and animal life.
With the exception Of one small vii
lage on its eastern border. not A single
human habitatiOn exists throughout the
basin This village. Taudeny. is on an
ancient caravan route. and salt mines
are worked there 10 supply the Soudan
markets. the stuff being quarried out
IN big slabs
All over the sink" are vast deposits
of salt. left behind by the vanished
sea Nolluscan shells and other
marines remains bear witness that its
surface al no remote period was COW
cred by the waves of ocean One great
salt bearing formation in the western
part is thirty miles long by twelve
in width. and 10000 camel-loads are
extracted from It annually So fright
full desert is FL Juf that no caravan
ever ventures to cross it, the routes
pursued skirting around its borders
Old Channel Now Blocked.
The old ea-channel north OF Cape
JUDY. known today as the Great Mouth,
Is an opening two and a half miles
wide between two lofty heights. with
cliffs rising perpendicularly 200 feet
above the sea It is blocked by the
sandbar aforementioned. In stormy
weather waves break furiously on the
bar 4 strong current setting con-
tinually toward the shore has caused