Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 March 1891 — SAHARA, A SEA OF SAND. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

SAHARA, A SEA OF SAND.

MISTAKES CONCERNING THE GREAT DESERT. JCxtentol the Barren B asto—lts Resources and Population Evidences of Former Civilizat on—Oases and Kulnod Cities.

— ——.H E energy of travelers has ||] opened up every || part o f Africa I to the world I save the Desert zk of Sahara, which \~ to the ordinary reader i s still 9|l|lhka<*\ wrapped in al■•UlxlSr most imponetrabie gloom and I mystery. The Pljl\ |1 common idea concerning this I I \ desert pictures i VfflMLjr it an expanso II ™||V/ as smooth as, a ¥iWc floor, stretching V i away in the dis'tiigKJ tanco like the ■ y sea, the shifting Wf fj\. sands blown by M into lou d s which overwhelm

whole caravans. No doubt for this idea there is a foundation of fact. It is truo that ’ the Sahara is largely composed of sand; it is also true that this sand is blown about by the winds which sweep, over the desert, that lives are sometimes lost in these hurricanes, and that wells of water are often days apart, and travelers sometimes experience acute suffering in traversing the desert. But the Sahara is not level nor flat; but, save an occasional stretch of plain for a few miles, it'consists of sandhills, so constantly changing their p'acos and appearance that even the professional guides of caravans are sometimes misled by the alteration in the natural features of the country since their last trip. But the Sahara is by no means all sand, says a writer in the Globe-Democrat of St. Louis, for no inconsiderable, portion consists of rocky mountains, the highest of them nearly 8,000 feot in height, almost wholly destitute of vegetation, but even in their ruggcdness sometimes easier to traverse than the sand hills, as affording a firmer footing. There is also a popular supposition

that the Sahara contains nogroen thing; but this is now known to be a mistake, for in most parts tropical plants and grasses find a feeble nourishment here and there, while in many districts, aftor a rain—a rare phenomenon, by tho way—grass springs up as luxuriantly as on tome of our Western plains. The extent of the Sahara can hardly be realized by one who has not had his attention expressly called to its geographical limits. From east to west its length is about 3,000 miles; from north to south over 1,000, comprising a territory estimated at 2,500,000 squaie miles, thus equaling in size nearly the whole of Europe and exceeding the area of the United States. Nor is it destitute of population, for though no census has ever been made of its wandering tribes, estimates place tho population of the Sahara at 2,500,000, consisting of Moors, Arabs and negroes, wandering to and fro among its sandy hills. The great desert presents no more picturesque spectacle than one of those wild hor.-e----men, in gorgeous though dirty trappings, and accoutered with his savage and Ineffective arms. Ferocious as they look, these bands of homeless wanderers are dangerous only when they are the stronger party. Then they do not hesitate a moment to plunder and slay; but whenever they arc In the minority they display a humility which is beautifully touching; tbey will kiss the hem of the traveler’s garments, tell him they are his slaves and beg his-commands. A very common mistake concerning the Sahara is with regard to the oases. It is supposed.that these arc few and far between, but this is a mistake, for there are several hundreds; so many, in fact, that one-third the surface pf'this mighty desert is supposed to'consist of more or less fertile land. But it is not fertile by nature, though rendered so bv cultivation, for wherever there is a spring vegetation appears, and by care on the part of the inhabitants to prevent encroachments of tjiegsand the limits of the arable land are greatly extended, Suppose, for Instance, a garden should be wanted. The Arab scoops out the sand from a space, necessarily limited, to a depth fivo to fifteen feet below the surrounding surface. There he comes to moist ground, and in it plants his vegetables, setting out palms on tho wall surrounding the cellar garden. It is a slow and costly of cultivating the ground, but It is successful, and any tropical plants and vegetables may be raised in the neighborhood of a spring. The oases' extend across the Sahara in lines, probab j following the courses of subterranean i,.cr-. and along these lines are the caravan outes. though it is probable that hupdreds of tho green spots in the desert are known to the natives but not to EW! ropeans, for the latter follow only the source of the caravan roads, and no thorough exploration has ever been made. Several caravan routes traverse the Sahara iu various directions. The one from Tangiers to Timbuctoo has already been mentioned, so has also the great caravan route from Tripoli to Borneo, by way of the contra! line of oases through the desert: among others, there is ono from Cairo to Lake Tchad, and another from Cairo to Fezzsn. The caravans general-

ly consist of from 200 to 500 persons, with from 500 to 2,000 camels, for without these patient beasts'it is impossible to traverse some parts of the Sahara at all, the wells occasionally being as much as ten days apart. An idea of the unpleasantness of the journey may be formed from the fact that it takes a caravan forty days from Cairo to Fezzan, and nearly thirty more to the fertile regions south of tho desert. The productions of the .Sahara are limited. Camels and domestic animals are reared by tho Moors stud Arabs, but aside from these there are only threo articles of export —salt, gum-arabic and ostrich feathers. .Salt is found in many plapes, and is generally taken by the caravans going south, for tho Soudan produces no salt, and enormous profits aro made by" its purchase in the oases of the 1 Sahara and sale along the Niger. The principal articles conveyel south by the caravans are European cotton goods,

guns, ammunition and liquors Much of the gum-arabic used In Europe and America is produced in the Sahara, for In the southwestern district aro dense groves of acacias, and tho product of their branches is gathered by the Moors and sold to tho French in St. Louts on the Senegal. Ostriches abound in most parts of tho desert, though what they live on Is a problem. They aro hunted both for their feathers and flesh, though only a half-starved Moor could tolerate the tough, fibrous meat of this ablebodied bird. Besides ostrichos, however, there are very few animals in the desert, most of the wells and springs being monopolized by human beings. It is a remarkable fact, however, that there aro indications of a former abundant population in tho Sahara, and signs that the climato was once loss intolerably hot than it is at present. In many of tho valleys signs ,of water courses afro froquent. and sometimes on the sandjf plains wells, still walled in, though now dry, aro to bo found, indicating that springs were once mote abundant than they npw seem to be. But the best sign of all that there has been a ebango in climatic conditions of the Sahara is the fact that, in the northern and central part, evidence exists of a vast population. Fezzan and the southern part of the Sahara were used by tho Romans as penal colonies. Nero sent a large body of political offonders there, that they might die tho sooner, tho climate’then being considered very insalubrious for Europeans. The same district was tho Siberia of more than ono Roman Emperor, and exi o to tho sands of Africa was In ancient times as much dreaded as Is now a departure to Siberia. At numerous points In the Sahara are remains of ruined cities, Carthaginian or

Roman, which probably each contained from 5,000 to 25,000 inhabitants. Walls, cisterns, wells, baths, aqueducts, temples, huge mansions, even great triumphal arches and large theaters and ampitheaters, show a teeming population. Various travelers have given accounts of these runs, which are so extensive as to attract the notice of even the ignorant and degraded natives. A ten-mile ride through Fezzan, straight into the desert, there is a ruined city which, surrounded by sand hills, pre- • sents a picture of solitary grandeur not surpassed by the remains of Baal bee or Palmyra. Great columns still stand, upholding vast cornice blocks: elegant sculptures may s£ill be traced on slab and block, though partially obliterated by the never-ceasing attrition of the flying sand, while hero and there fallen capitals, half covered, bespeak a civilization which has passed away. In West Sahara, to the south of Algiers, there stands in the mradle of a sandy plain a triumphal arch, erected, as the Moors say, in honor of a great victory gained there. It is covered with inscriptions, which, however, save a word here and there, are illegible, and the" deciphered portions being Latin have led to the conjecture that the monument was erected either in honor of Scipio African us or of Sever us. There is no marble in the vicinity like that which covers it, though how the large slabs were transported from the seacoast to a point nearly 200 miles inland is a problem equal to that which concerns itself with the blocks of the pyramids. In the Lybian Desert are found the ruins of a city near Moor Saha The -walls are in large part still standing, and indicate a circumference of between seven and eighS miles. It ij even

grander In Its proportions than any one of the cities, and the strength of its fortifications indicates that "the enemy’s country was not far away. It was probably an outpost of the. Romans against the Soudanese, and its large cisterns, choked-up wells, and filled amphitheaters indicate not only the size and importance of the city but also the luxury of its population. Cities do not spring up in deserts; hence, it is probable that the climate of Sahara was formerly more pleasant, that rains were moro.frequent, and better conditions of life prevailed. It is known that iron ore, granite and marble are abundant in tho desert, for mines and quarries have been found. Thus cities could be easily builded. It is probable that, when vegetation was more abundant and families, both wild and domestic, were more numerous, the Sahara was not the uninviting region that it now is. Geologists beliove that parts of the

Sahara were once at the bottom of the sea, and that in one of those bygone ages the surrounding coast, comprising now a sandy waste, was formed like other tropical regions. Whether this wore true or not, it is not impossible that the desert again may blossom like the rose, for the French, who have an interest In

the country, and are credited with a desire to own it all, have a project lor making an inland sea in the western part of the desert. It appears from surveys made that about 120,0Q0 miles, fibt far from the coast, kca/'bdlow the lpvel of the shore, and a cut through the coast hills wohld flood'thfs portion of the desert and might produce a change in its climate. This, however,

is of a piece with the scheme for A traussaharau railroad from and. the oases to Timbuctoo and Borneo* This’is a day of great projects, and whether such giant undertakings will over be realized is impossible to predict; but

even should the canal be dug and that portion of the Sahara flooded with water, there is no reason to suppose that any very material change in the climate will result, save in the immediate vicinity. Far more reliance can be placed in the

artesian wells, for wlxerever these have been'sunk excellent water is found at a' depth of 200 to "400 feet, and with good water an inland sea is by no means* a necessity.

A SAHARAN BEAUTY OF THE HAREM.

A BAND STORM IN THE SAHARA.

THE ARCH OF SEVERUSI

A RUINED ROMAN CITY.

AN INHABITANT OF THE DESERT.