the Atlas Mountains to the Sudan, it is a weird panorama of rock waste-level, rugged, shingly, and mountainous, according to locality. In places only it is penetrated by lar

nto the confines of the desert and then, a

which these lakes is situated probably was once the head of the Gulf of Sidra; but the never-ceasing winds have partly filled the depression, cutting off the head of the gulf in the same manner that wind-blown sands severed what is now Imperial Valley from the Gulf of C

ere, narrow there, that produces grain and fruit. The Arabs call it the Tell. "Beyond the Tell is Sah-ra," or the Sahara. This is the name which the Arabs apply to the archipelago of fertile spots, or oases. Beyond the zone of oases is the desert. One

ands of

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e degrees. In the shade it frequently climbs to one hundred and thirty degrees in the vicinity of the tropics. Unless one is at a considerable altitude there is not much relief at night, though the thermometer may drop to ninety degrees. Farther north, however, and at an altitude of five thousand feet or more, the temperature of the night is even more cruel than that of the

t where to find water, and there are many hidden watering places that are known to the crafty Tuaregs and Bedouins. Many of the watering places are wells that have been sunk in various localities along the caravan

evaporation, however; possibly the greater part sinks into the porous rock waste. And the rock waste?-perhaps it may be twenty, fifty, or one hundred and fifty feet deep. At all events, the wa

ct coupled with experience, and the animal's judgment is about as good as the man's. When one finds the spot, it is necessary only to dig. The water may be two feet below the surface or it may be ten feet. W

art. The approach of the simoom is a dense black cloud of whirling and seething fine dust. As it strikes one, the choking, suffocating blast of hot air and dust overcomes everything that has life. The caravan men and the animals as well turn their backs to the wind and lie down with faces close to the ground. In a minute or two the full strength of the blast is on and the simoom is picking up not only the

prevails. The fine dust floating in the air may not settle for several days. Perhaps a week afterward there may be a haze that partly obscures the sun. The dust, finer than the finest flour, pervades everything in the desert. One's clothing is full of it; one's hair becomes harsh and matted; the sk

. Imagine oneself standing on an elevation a few hundred feet higher than the surrounding country. There is but one landscape-waves upon waves of the loose rock waste, fo

ing in the direction of the wind. A breeze even of five or six miles an hour will keep the lighter surface dust moving freely, while a twelve-mile wind will not only sweep along much

by the wind, they come to rest. Thus, the crest, built forward by new material constantly added, is advancing. Valleys are filled; old strea

lth. It is an almost universal custom to speak of the barren condition of the desert. The contrary is the truth; there is no soil e

by water may be obtained. Surface water that is available to irrigate the wastes of the Sahara does not exist. The level of the Nile is so far below the surface on both sides of its own flood-plain that its waters cannot be used for the reclamation of any part of

ings his science into play and drives an artesian well. The well thus driven may be a "gusher," but for most of them pumps are required to raise the water to the surface. The best well, however, furnishes water enough to irrig

rous caravan routes, an increase in caravan commerce is apt to result, for along many routes the volume of caravan commerce depends very largely on the number of we

most beautiful object. Usually the feathered tops of the trees are the only foliage to relieve the harsh landscape. Like the bamboo, every part of the tree is used. The leaves may be made into fans, or shredded and woven into mats. The wood is used in making the framework of buildings, and the waste material is very handy as fuel. A re

of its name, it is not a grass but a flowering plant whose stalk has a tough fibre useful in making co

cold. By sunrise the chill begins to disappear, and a few brief moments is the only interval between piercing chill and midsummer heat. The baracan is quickly shed

st reach to cut the mature stalks, is quite likely to be the lair of a poisonous viper; and if the reptile sinks its fangs into the flesh of the unfortunate picke

th. Its sting, too, is about as dangerous as the fangs of the rattler. But the esparto picker has a method of heroic treatment for both the bite of the viper and the sting of the scorpion. He squats calmly upon t

dred weight, held together by a coarse netting of esparto weave, and shipped to Europe. Nearly al

me esparto will be but little used except for making cordage or gunny cloth. Already the French Government is having troubles of its own in providing employ

ng collection of humps, bumps, knobs, protruding joints, and sprawling legs seemingly attached to a head and neck in the near foreground. B

han its cud. Horses and mules cannot traverse regions where the watering places are more than twelve hours apart, unless wat

mer size. When the animal has a few days of feeding the hump grows to its former proportions

ng the desert on

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ght gallons of water. When the camel drinks copiously these cells become filled and afterward slowly give up the wate

erse the Sahara the camel will be practically the only means of transportation. The camel's flesh furnishes about the only mea

descendants of the Berbers and of the same race as the Carthaginians, whom the Romans many times defeated but never conquered. They have whiter skins than the Arabs and in appearance are perhaps the finest people

ves at the lower end of the social ladder. The families of the highest caste are usually well-to-do, and both the men and the women are taught to read and write. The garments usually worn by a Tuare

an enters, we will say, Kano. The garfla sheik pack master, or superintendent, goes at once to the financial agent of the sultan and pays the usual liken, or tariff cha

ards will also faithfully defend the caravan in case of attack by Bedouin Arabs. On the other hand, should the garfla sheik fo

of a dozen or more mounted on swift horses will survey the caravan from a distance at which they are not likely to be discovered. Then they make their way ahead of it to some point where a dune or a gully will conceal them. Then, just as the end of the caravan drags by,

; the northerly winds, crossing the Mediterranean, are not only tempered thereby, but the desert blasts tempered and filled with moistu

s of its two parts are rapidly shortening the interval that separates them and they are almost in sight of each other. When the lines that are projected from the Med