Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 19??-1918, 1916-10-29
IS BED OF MIGHTY OCEAN.
Endless Sands. Little More Than !,
thousand Years Ago, Were coveret
BY Great Espanse Of Wa,sr--cut OF
From Atlantic, Heat Dried Il Up
Covers Area OF 10000 Square Miles.

y
the Sahara dessert
THIS, from aU engineering viewpoint
viii not he u very dIihyut affair Il
the western Sahara there is n vast lie
I preston or 'Snh 30 Ccrt below tn,
level ot the ocean aud covering an ares
| VI about iuWr sluJ miles Al ,hnl
Is necessary Is to cut a cana, six mile,
! long In order TO let the sea Into lt
The depression is called 10y the Arab,
| FL Juf. nr the Great Hollow II t. n
level plain extending FROM the vicinity
/ OF Cape Judy ,on the .northWcs; coast
, directly opposite the Canary Islands,
southeast to within iO miles Vt Thu
huktu Its greatest breadth. l.U mites.
Is toward the south. To the north
west 1t gradually uarruws. tcrmh,a,
lug IN the dry channel which repro
scnts It's former connection with the
Atlantic.
Once an inland Sea.
Not much more than l,uun years ugu
IL Jur was an inland sea In fact. an
arm ~ the Atlantic ocean Rut the
entrance channel uhirty miles north
Of cape Judy was at about that time
blocked hy sand, the waters or the
gulr that occupied the great hollow
were dried up lay evaporation, and the
area was transformed into n desert
The proposition nov Is TO make n cut
ting through the sand bar. run out jet
ties to prevent further denominations
of sand and 81 restore the uld cundi
tion Of affairs Nothing could hr more
simple
When this shall have been accom-
pllshcd there will be- direct navigation
from Europe by steam or sail across
the present desert nearly to the upper
reaches of the Niger Fleets Of mcr.
chantmcn will voyage over the con.
qucrcd Sahara. From the port Of Mar.
scillcs n water trip of | 500 miles VIII
bring the traveller within n short dis
tancc Of Timhuktn the "my ,terlou~
city that was never even seen bv n
white man untll less ihnn n centur,
ago.
III Juf IL today n hopeless region
destitute ~ vegetable aud animal life
with the exception of one slnnll VII
lagc on i,s eastern border. not n single
human hnbltHtion exists throughout,
the basin 'rhIa village. Tnndcny. IL
on an ancient caravan route. nnd salt
mines are worked there 10 supply the
Sudan markets. the stun being uunr
ried out In hig slabs
Vast Deposits OF Salt
All over the "riuk" arc vast deposits
Of salt, left behind by the vanished
sea. Molluscan shells aud other mn.
rine remains bear witness TINT It's sur.
face nt no remote period was covered
by the waves Of ocenn One grcnt snli
benrng formation In the western pnrt
In thirty miles long by twelve In width.
and 10000 camel londs nre extracted
from II annually. SO frlghtfu desert
II III Juf that no caravan ever ven.
lures TO cross II, the route pursued
Nhi' 'ilE hToHIU I'm nOfUprN.
The old sen channel north Of Cane
Iuby, known today ~ the Great Mouth.
IL an opening two md one hnf miles
Wide between two lofty heights. with
rllrs rising pcrpcndlculhrly 200 feet
above the sca. II ls blocked by the
sand bar aforementioned. In stormy
weather waves break fhrl0nsly on the
bar A strong current setting confirm.
1lly toward the shore has caused the
accumulation " sand which long ago
separated III Juf from tho Atlantic.
A few miles inlnnd there IL range
" high mountains, running north and
south and parallel with the coAot, but
there IL n wide gap IN the range
through which the channel pnsses.
Thus. as viewed from the occnn out.
side, the entrance to the ancient "gulf''
of III Juf X pIcturcsqucly obvious and
striking. From the coast the channel
dts bed thlckly lncrusted with marine
salts brondcns out and Gun be FOL.
lowed for II grent distance into the
"'otit D"hh' " lbIIllh NUIIpN FprOKi
nlzable MS the northwest arm Of tho
gulf that used 10 he. IN some places
the banks OF the channel rise TO n
height OF 900 feet. with vertical walls
aud 0vcrhnnglng cliffs.
Now, Africa possesses rivers OF great
magnitude tho most important OF
them being the Nile (which IN the long.
est river In the worldl, the Niger and
the Kongo But none Of the mighty
streams Of the dark continent cnn bc
used as highway 10 the Interior on
nccolint OF cntnrncts and other oh
strllctlons to navigation. The Nile hns
Nix cntnrncts nnd The K0ngo HIxty.two
'ninrncts ANA rapids.
The nooding Of the Sahara by the
means here described viii provide n
nnvignblc highway for the commerce
Of the world II win open M the