Chapter XXVI: The Oasis of Tozeur

One arrives at Tozeur via Sfax and Gafsa and the light narrow-gauge railway belonging to the company exploiting the phosphate mines. Beyond Gafsa the line runs to Metlaoui, peopled only by six hundred phosphate workers of the mines, a mixed crew of Arabs, Sicilians, and Maltese, speaking a veritable _jargon des ours_, which nobody but themselves can understand. It is strange, this little industrial city of the desert, but it is unlovely, consisting only of little whitewashed cubes of houses, a school-house, a miniature church and mosque, and a few miserable little shops.

Gafsa is the chief metropolis of the region of the _chotts_. It is called by the Arabs the pearl of the Djérid, and is a military post, and the _bled_, or market town, for untold thousands of desert nomads. The same word _bled_, when used by the city dweller, means the desert. Such are the inconsistencies of Arab nomenclature. They almost equal our own.

Tozeur is reached from Gafsa by any one of a half dozen means. On foot, on bicycle,--if you will, by automobile,--if you have the courage, by diligence, _calèche_, or on horse, donkey, or camel back. If by either of the latter means, you will of course be accompanied by a grinning blackamoor who will respond to the name of Mohammed, and be thoroughly useless except to prod the animal now and then. You and he will understand each other by sign language, or by what might be called phonetic French, and you will get on very well. Tozeur is eighty odd kilometres from Gafsa over a "_route carrossable_," as the French describe a carriage road,--sandy and rutty in places; but still a road which ranks considerably higher than most of those of Ohio or Indiana. There are no means of obtaining provisions, or even water, _en route_, so the journey must be made either in a day, or arrangements made for camping out overnight. With a good guide the journey might preferably be made at night, for a nocturnal ramble in the desert is likely to awaken emotions in the sentimentally inclined which will be something unique among their previous experiences.

An Arab horse or mule will think nothing of doing sixty kilometres between sunrise and sunset, but if a _calèche_ is to be one's mode of conveyance, thirty-six hours is none too long to allow for the journey from Gafsa to Tozeur.

The high-class Arab professes a contempt for the donkey or the mule, though this indeed is no part of his creed, for we must not ignore that it was a donkey that the Prophet most loved among beasts.

For the masses who have passed the _bourriquet_ stage, the mule is the beast of burden par excellence. The Bey of Tunis, when he takes his promenades abroad, has a team of six mules attached to his band-wagon coach, and superb and distinguished-looking beasts they are; but the desert Sheik will have nothing but an Arabian horse, not the "charger shod with fire" of the drawing-room song, but a sound, sturdy, agile beast, a good goer and handsome to look upon.

The _indigène's_ mule will amble along over a desert track fourteen or sixteen hours out of the twenty-four, carrying his human burden in the characteristic Arab saddle known as a _borda_, and scarcely seeming to feel the weight.

The Arab is habitually kind to his beast of burden, at least he is no more cruel to him than most lighter coloured humanity, and not nearly as much so as the Sicilian and the Spaniard.

The little donkey to which the Prophet showed compassion was doubtless a contrary little beast at times; but, since he is reputed to have been able to go leagues and leagues without either eating or drinking, loaded with burdens at which a full-grown mule and horse had balked, the _bourriquet_ of the desert Arab must have had (and has) some undeniable virtues. Not often is his lot an unhappy one, and the strangling curb and bit and the resounding whacks from a spade or shovel, with which the sunny-faced Italian usually regales his four-footed friends, are seldom to be noted in North Africa. The Arab is voluntarily just towards all living things, and if he sometimes forgets himself, and gives his camel or his donkey a vicious prod, he, perhaps, has had provocation, for both are contrary beasts at times.

_En route_ one passes many caravans, fifty or a hundred camels in a bunch, half as many horses and mules, a score of donkeys, and a troop of women, children, and dogs bringing up the rear. Most of them are making for Kairouan or Gabès, coming from Algeria through the gateways of El Oued and Ourgala. The camels march in Indian file, loaded down with bales and barrels, a hundred, a hundred and fifty and more kilos to each. No other means of transportation is so practicable for the commerce of the desert, nor will be until some one invents a broad-tired automobile that won't sink in the sand. The camel's foot, by the way, doesn't sink in the sand, and that is why he is more of a success in the desert than any other carrier. When the ideal automobile for the desert comes, the ship of the desert will disappear, as the horse is disappearing from the cities and towns of Europe and America.

Intermingled with the caravans are occasional flocks of sheep, black-faced sheep and rams, with two, three, and even four horns apiece, and fat, wobbly tails of extraordinary size, the characteristic, it seems, of the sheep of the Sud-Tunisien. Like the hump and the six stomachs of the camel, this fat caudal appendage of the Tunisian sheep is a sort of reserve supply of energy, and when it is dry picking along the route, they live on their fat. Other animals often starve under like conditions.

Long before Tozeur is reached one wonders if the guide has not lost his bearings. Probably he hasn't, but it is all like the trackless ocean to the man in the saddle, and the mule or donkey or camel doesn't seem to care in the least which way his head is turned so long as he is not made to push forward at full speed.

If one encounters a native, the guide being momentarily hidden behind a sand-dune, most likely a _bonjour_ or a _salut_ will be forthcoming; but that is all. The native's French vocabulary is often small, and in these parts he is quite as likely to know as much of Italian, Maltese or Hebrew. One that we encountered looked particularly intelligent, so after the formal courtesies of convention, we risked:

"Tozeur? loin?"

"Là-bas."

"Combien de temps?"

"Il en faut."

"Quelle distance?"

"Au bout."

Our interrogatory was not a success. Another time we should trust to our guide and bury suspicion. The Arab has some admirable traits, but he often does not carry things to a finish, not even for his own benefit, and his acquaintance with French is apt to be limited and his conversation laconic. The Oriental proverb on the life of the nomad suits the Arab to-day as well as it ever did.

_Mieux vaut être assis que debout,_
_Couché qu' assis,_
_Mort que couché._

Finally a blue line of haze appears on the horizon, something a little more tangible than anything seen before, unless indeed it prove to be a mirage. If not a mirage, most likely it is Tozeur, or rather the palms surrounding that sad, but interesting centre of civilization.

"Tozeur?" you ask again, of Mohammed this time, and that faithful Arab with a curt assent breathes the words "_C'est bien ça_." Mohammed is learned, has mingled with the world, and is suspicious that your confidence in his powers is not all that he would have wished. "Well, here we are," he thinks, "now what have you got to say?" "_C'est bien ça: Tozeur! Oui! oui! Je n'ai trompé pas jamais, moi, Mohammed._" By this time he has thought it all out and is really mad, but his mood soon passes and he becomes as before, taciturn, faithful and willing. The Arab doesn't bear malice for trivial things.

By contrast with the houses of Kairouan, Sousse and Sfax, which cut the blue of the sky with a dazzling line of white, Tozeur is but a low, rambling mud-coloured town of native-made bricks called _tobs_. The impression from

afar is one singularly sad and gloomy, for the architectural scheme of the builders of Tozeur is more akin to that of the Soudanese than to that of the Berber or Arab. In its detailed aspect the architecture of Tozeur is remarkably appealing, quaint, decorative, and founded on principles which the Roman builders of old spread to all corners of the known world of their day. This may be the evolution of the architecture of Tozeur or it may not, but certainly the flat-brick construction is wonderfully like that of the baths and cisterns of the Romans.

Tozeur itself is melancholy, but its situation is charming and contrastingly interesting to all who hitherto have known only the Arabe-Mauresque architecture of the cities of the littoral, or the Roman ruins of the dead cities of Lambessa, Timgad and Tebessa. The little garrison which the French planted here some years ago has gone, and only a few European functionaries remain, those in control of the _impôt_, a doctor and an innkeeper, who doubtless means well, but who has a most inadequate establishment. And this in spite of the fact that Tozeur is the capital of the Djérid.

The Djérid itself is a great expansive region between the plateau steppes and the desert proper. The natives are Berbers who have become what the French call _Arabisé_, though many of their traditions seem to be paganly Roman rather than Mussulman.

The hotel accommodations of Tozeur are endurable, but as before said they are inadequate. Travellers are rare in this desert oasis, and two or three sleeping-rooms scantily furnished--a bed, a chair and a wash-basin--are the extent of the resources of Mme. Besson's apologetic little hotel.

Tozeur's market is a mere alley of inverted V-shaped huts of reed, wherein are sold--after much solemn bargaining and drinking of coffee--all the small wants of the desert Arab, such as a morsel of town-baked bread, hobnails for his shoes, a piece of tanned leather--with the fur on--with which to make a new sole, a hank of thread, a tin pot or pan, or a bandanna handkerchief--which however must have stamped upon its border some precept from the Koran. The Arab's personal wants are not great, and as he almost invariably carries his worldly goods about with him they are accordingly not bulky.

Our only diversion at Tozeur was watching an hysterical fête or pilgrimage to the neighbouring tomb of a marabout who died in recent years richly endowed with sanctity. The history of this holy man was told us as follows:

This man, Alfaoui, had lived all his life in Algeria, practising the virtues of the Koran so assiduously that he was reckoned by his friends and neighbours as one of the good and great. Having taken too active a part in the insurrection of 1871, when the whole country--except Kabylie--was ablaze with sedition, he fled precipitately from Algeria and settled with his goods and chattels at Tamerza in Tunisia, one of the oasis villages of Tozeur, arriving in time to great repute and respect among the people.

Alfaoui's compact with Allah was not however so intimate but that he occasionally conspired against the French, who, in the eighties, came to occupy Tunisia, as they had Algeria fifty years before. His conspiracies were in a way harmless enough, and consisted principally in "doing" the French officials at every opportunity. He refused to pay his taxes, and advised his followers to do the same; he smuggled tobacco, firearms and matches, and trafficked in them among the natives, to the loss of a certain revenue to the fiscal authorities, who, when they finally ran him to earth _en flagrant délit_, found only some thousands of empty match boxes with English labels,--but made in Belgium nevertheless,--the kind of matches where you scratch three before you get one to burn, or as the French say of their own abominable _allumettes_, it takes a match to light a match.

Alfaoui was tried and condemned by the French tribunal, and it was this ready-made "martyrdom by infidels" that caused the faithful roundabout to elevate the meddlesome Alfaoui the Algerian to the distinction of a marabout, and a house or _kouba_ was built for him entirely of brick taken from the sepulchres of a neighbouring cemetery. Thus are holy reputations made to order in the fanatical faith of the Mussulman. Alfaoui's followers to-day are many, and without knowing why they venerate him, thousands make the pilgrimage to his shrine, and wail and chant and weep and have a good time generally. The government says nothing. It fears nothing to-day, and since the Mussulman must have many and convenient shrines for the excesses of his devotion to the principles of the Koran, why that of a _contrebandier_ and agitator serves as well as any other and no harm done.

The great date-palm plantations of Tozeur are watered by a complicated system of irrigating canals whose flood-gates are opened every morning by the authorities. A very deep spring gives an abundant supply of sweet, limpid water which runs in miniature rivulets around and through the tentacle-like roots of the Djérid's million palm-trees, bringing the means of livelihood and prosperity to a conglomerate population of thirty thousand souls. Thirty millions of kilogrammes of dates bring a considerable profit to the cultivator, even if a goodly share does go to the exploiter, the transportation company and the middleman. Four hundred thousand frances in taxes and duties are collected yearly, from this most fertile of all African date-growing regions.

All this is something to think about and marvel at when one is threading his way slowly through the palisaded trunks of a grove of a million palm-trees. The Arab knows the value of dates as a food product, but it needed the European to exploit the industry profitably.

The Arab's veneration for the date-palm is great, and he affectionately refers to it as "the tree which grows with its feet in the water and its head in the fire of the sky."

There is another product of the palm-tree less beneficial to man, and that is a sort of wine or sap which is gathered much as the Mexican gathers _pulque_, or as the resin is sapped from the pine-tree. It's a soft, pleasant, somewhat sticky liquid, seemingly innocuous, but its after effects may be safely guaranteed as being of the "stone-fence" variety. The Arab, by tradition, is a temperate person in food and drink, but the European has taught him to drink white wine and he himself has copied the French and taken (in small numbers fortunately) to absinthe, and now he has got a ready-made distillery of _lagmi_ in every palm-tree. The government proposes some sort of control of this "moonshining," but the wheels of the law, like those of God, move slowly, and the seed of dissolution may yet be sown among the Arabs of Tozeur before the fiscal authorities find a way to levy a tax on _lagmi_.

No one who ever saw the _indigène_ villages attached to a fertile Saharan oasis will fail to remark that in spite of the proximity of the cool, welcome shadow of the thick-growing palm-trees, the _adobé_ (_tob_) huts are invariably huddled together upon some blazing, baked spot of ground with not so much shelter from the sun's rays as is given by a flagpole. Why indeed is it so? The Arab may be like the Neapolitan in his contempt for those who walk or live in the shade, but certainly the sun-baked existence which most dwellers in Arab mud houses live for twelve months out of the twelve must be enervating and discouraging, or would be if the Arab ever felt the effects of heat and cold, which apparently he does not. Perhaps this is the explanation of the motive which prompts him to select his town sites where he does. The case is not so hopeless though; the palm-tree grows quickly; and a dozen years would transform the most dreary, monotonous Arab town of sun-cured mud walls and roofs into a garden city which would rival Paradise. Perhaps some day the "movement"--as we call the latest vogue in America and England--will strike North Africa, and then we shall have graded streets, lamp-posts on every corner and artificial lakes with goldfish in them. And then where will be the rude picturesqueness of the Arab town which charms us to-day?

Tozeur is not a lovely town, even as African towns go, but it is interesting, comfortable, and accessible, after you have once got to Sfax and Gafsa. It is altogether a little bit of mediævalism which even the life of the Arab of to-day cannot change. And there is scarcely any evidence plainly visible to indicate that Tozeur is not living three centuries back in the past.

The environs of Tozeur offer views of ravishing beauty to the artist or the more sentimentally inclined. From the height of the minaret of Ouled-Medjed one commands a view of the entire oasis of Degach, with here and there a clump of dismantled ruined habitations and on the horizon the illimitable, miraculous desert mirage.

To the direct south is the great _chott_, so shallow that the trail to Gabès can cross it at its widest part. To the four cardinal points one frames his views of that marvellous African landscape; seen only at its best from within a horseshoe-arched window, the invariable ogive accompaniment of the true Arab replica of Moorish architecture.

The view from the height of Tozeur's mosque is a replica of that of which Richepin sang. It is not Kipling, but it is good sentiment, nevertheless.

"Loin, loin, toujours plus loin, la mer morte des sables
S'étalait sans limite, et rien ne remuait
Sur l'immobilité des flots infranchissables,
Sur l'immobilité de l'air lourd et muet."

Coming down to earth, and making our way gropingly back to Mme. Besson's humble rest house, a storm broke over our heads. It came with the suddenness of night; and sticks and stones and much sand, and hailstones as big as plover's eggs, fell through a suffocating stillness with blinding force. It was all over in a moment. It came and went like the characters of the stage, without announcement and without adieu, and Tozeur settled down again to its wonted calm.

The _muezzin_ calls to prayer at sundown and night falls brusquely on the silent desert air as if an inky wave had engulfed all before it.

THE END.

Index

_Abd-el-Kader_, 241, 250

_Adam, de l'Isle, Villiers_, 1

_Adam, the brothers_, 98

_Aeneas_, 389

Africa, the granary of, 309
The palm-trees of, 33
The wheat of, 32

Ain-Beïda, 352
Diligence from, to Tebessa, 352
Railway from Kenchela, to, 352

Ain-Séfra, 221

_Alfaoui, the Algerian_, 339, 340

Alger, "La Blanche," 245
Highest peak in, province of, 53
Province of, 25, 51, 53

Algeria, 9, 22, 23, 36, 37, 38, 42, 44,
56, 57, 64, 65, 67, 68, 76, 78, 91, 93,
98, 99, 107, 113, 135, 144, 147, 170, 173,
174, 176, 197, 198, 200, 201, 203, 205, 207,
209, 212, 213, 214, 215, 228, 232, 235, 241,
256, 262, 263, 264, 281, 283, 315, 330, 333,
403, 408, 411, 417, 423

Algeria, Agriculture in, 55, 56
Arab of the, 264, 337
Arab chiefs in, 147
Arab and Berber, population of, 43
Climate of, 50-51, 54
Commercial possibilities in, 46
Currency in, 45-46
Forçats of, the, 347
Glimpse of real countryside of, 259
Goum of, the, 206
Hebrew of, the, 142
Kabyles, the Auvergnats of, 282
Koubas of, 106
Native Arab soldiery, 203-208
Nomad Arab, 332
Negro café in, the, 312-314
Of to-day, 42-56
One of the richest agricultural lands, 31
Population of, 42-44
Railways of, 54-55, 72
Regular soldiery in, the, 199
Revenues of, 42
Romantic character in history of, 200
Routes Nationales of, 55
Spahis and Turcos of, 202
Taxes in, 34
Tax on wine, in, 48
Tobacco, a source of profit in, 47-48
Trade between, and France, 31
Wild beasts killed in, list of, 24
Wine industry of, 55-56
Winter in, 51

Algeria and Tunisia, 4, 10, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 23, 37
Arab town in, the, 406
Architecture of mosques in, 101
Barbary fig in, 33
Diligence of, 20-22
Divisions of native Mussulman population, 129
Foreign population in, 28
French policy in, 76
Horses seen in, 169
Immigration of Arab population of, 66
Jews in, 142-144
Marabout of, the, 90-91
Marabouts in, 92
Newcomers to, 193
Pilgrims from, 93
Ports of, 36
Roads of, 22
Sheiks of, 76
Story of, the, 4
Wines of, 34

Algerian, Arab horse, the, 171
Budget, the, 42
Coast, temperature on, 37-38
Gold coin, 45
Journal, account of divorce in, 161-163
Mountains, 288
Quick-lunch, 263
Wine, 35

Algiers, 1, 11, 12, 15, 17, 26, 37, 42, 44, 51, 67,
103, 105, 137, 138, 144, 164, 173, 178, 200, 212,
214, 228, 229, 231, 235, 238, 239, 240, 242, 252,
260, 264, 266, 273, 275, 281, 284, 288, 289, 290,
295, 299, 320, 328, 338, 359, 403
And beyond, 259-272
And its life, 247
Arabs of, the, 251
Arab town of, the, 249-250
Architectural charms, 248
Café d'Apollon in, 27
Environs of, 246
Grande Mosquée of, 246
Great White City, 245-258
Historical and romantic figures of, 254
Icosium of the Romans, the, 245
Jewesses of, 283
Kasba at, the, 245, 248, 249
Minarets of, 103
Mosque Marabout of Sidi-Brahim, at, 106
Pacha of, a (see _Salah Raïs_)
Place du Gouvernement at, 246
Population of, 253
Port of, 254
Shoeblacks of, 27
Streets of, 246
Suburban, 52
Veiled women of, 256-258

_Ali-ben-Embarek_, 241

_Ali-Bey_ (see _Si-Ali-Bey_)

Andalusia, 29, 35, 109, 220, 221

Arba, 178, 264, 265, 266

_Arnaud_, 3

Atlas Mts., the, 11, 49, 51, 92, 277

_Augustus_, 32, 237, 287, 392
Third legion of, 346, 348

Aumale, 47, 264, 266, 267, 268
Auzia, the, of the Romans, 267
Diligence from Algiers to, 266
Route Nationale from, to
Bou-Saada, 267
Temperatures at, 54

Aures, the, 310, 351

Auzia (see Aumale)

Bagdad, Kalif of, 78 Tomb of Sidi-el-Hadji-Abd-el-Kader-el-Djilali at, 93

_Balzac_, 92, 149

Barbary, Coast, the, 5, 339, 402, 413
Slaves of, 143-144
States, form of minarets in, 110

_Barberousse_, the brothers, 254

_Barrucaud, Victor_, 3

Bastion de France, 340

Batna, 52, 310, 315, 344, 345, 346
Guide at, 311-312
Hôtel des Etrangers et Continentals at, 311
La-bivouac, 345
Negro village at, 312-314
School for Arab children, 314-315
Tomb of Massinissa, 345

_Belisarius_, 393

Ben-Izguen, 333

Beni-Ferah, 317

Beni-Mançour, 275, 281, 287, 289

Beni-Ounif, 11, 221

Beni-Salah, Mts. of, 232

Beni-Souf, 234

_Bertrand, Louis_, 3

Beryan, 333

_Besnard_, 5

_Besson, Mme._, 422, 428

Biskra, 1, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 49, 225, 233,
289, 310, 317, 320-329, 334, 344, 369, 403, 411
And the desert beyond, 320-335
Café Glacier at, 323
Casino, the, at, 322, 329
Conquered by the Duc d'Aumale, 264
Danseuses of, 128
Excursions from, 329
From Constantine to, 309
Guides at, 322
Hôtel des Ziban, 323
The Moorish cafés of, 324-326
The Ouled Naïl dancers of, 323, 326-329
Plan of, 321
Rue Sainte of, 323, 327
Temperatures at, 54

Bizerta, 12, 61, 63, 400-401
Hippo Diarrhytus of the ancients, 400

Bizerte (see Bizerta)

_Blake_, 403

Blida, 51, 56, 217, 229, 231, 232-234, 243, 265, 289, 309
Bois Sacré of, 232
Excursions from, 243
Known as Khaaba, 232
Known as Ouarda, 232
Marabout of Sidi-Yacoub-ech-Chérif at, 232
Mauresques of, 234
Route de, 230

Bona, 52, 93, 213, 338-339
Basilica of St. Augustin at, 338
Hôtel de l'Orient at, 339
Kasba, the, at, 339
Road from, to La Calle, 340
Roman quais at, 36
The ancient Hippo Regius, 338
Tomb of Sidi-Brahmin at, 338

Bona-Guelma railway, 345

Bone (see Bona)

Bou-Chateur, domain of, 398

Bou-Noura, 333

Bou-Saada, 10, 11, 47, 49, 267-270
El Hamel 15 kilometres from, 270
From Aumale to, 267
Hôtel Bailly at, 268
Route Nationale to, 264

Boufarik, 227-231, 265, 289
Hôtel Benoit at, 228
Its market, 228, 230

Bougie, 281, 287-290
Off the beaten track, 288
Roman ruins at, 290
Saldae of the ancients, 287
Roman quais at, 36

Boumezou, the, 300

_Bourmont, General_, 200

_Bugeaud_, 201

_Burton, Sir Richard_, 3, 67

_Cabannes_, 5

_Cæsar_, 69, 293, 341, 392, 412

_Caïd of the Tell, the_, anecdote of, 138

Cairo, 16, 18, 26, 41, 60, 67, 101, 107,
122, 166, 173, 246, 252, 294, 299, 306, 322, 359, 360
Cape to, 10
Kalif of, 78
Minaret of Mosque of El Bardenei, 103
Minaret of Mosque of Kalaun, 103
Mosque of Hmrou at, 109
Mosque of Iba Touloum at, 109

Cap Bon, 13

Cap Carthage, 13, 339, 402

Cap Matifou, 245

_Caracalla_, Arch of Triumph of, 353, 354

Cart-hadchat (see Carthage)

Carthage, 13, 30, 61, 170, 238, 240, 337,
372, 374, 389-397, 398, 400, 405, 412
Basilica of St. Louis at, 389
Musée Lavigerie at, 394
Plan of, 395
Recent discoveries at, 396-397
Steam tram from Tunis to, 390
The glory that once was, 389-401
Vin blanc de, 35, 400

Carthago (see Carthage)

Casablanca, 206

Castiglione, 236
Tombeau de la Chrétienne, near, 236-237

_Cato_, 389

_Cervantes_, 254

Cesarea, capital of Mauretania, 239

_Chabannes, M._, 398

_Charles V_, 209, 255, 290, 399

Chelia, Mt., 53

Chellu (see Collo)

Cherchell, 229, 231, 235, 238, 239, 240, 241, 248, 338
Ancient port of, 239
From Tipazato, by road, 239
Grande Mosquée of, 240
Population of, 240
Road to, 235
Roman ruins at, 240
Roman quais at, 36, 240

Chiffa, Gorges de, (see Gorges de Chiffa)

Chio, 402

Chott Nefzaoua, 412

Chotts, the, 411-412, 414

Cirta (see Constantine)

_Clauzel, General_, 283

_Cleopatra_, 284

Col des Genets, 288

Col des Oliviers, 307

Collo, 287
Chellu of the ancients, 341
Roman quais at, 36

Colomb-Béchar, 224

_Columbus_, 211

_Constant_, 5

Constantine, 34, 42, 52, 234, 289, 309, 310, 320, 326, 328, 341, 344, 369
And the Gorge du Rummel, 291-308
Arab cemetery at, 303
Arab town of, the, 298, 299
Camel caravan from, 178
Cirta of the ancients, 294, 341
Danseuses of, 128
Environs of, 307
First glimpse of, 293
Monuments of, 295
Mosque of Salah Bey at, 295
Mussulman festival at, 301-306
Palace of Bey at, 295-296
Plague of locusts in, 47
Plan of tomb of Médracen, 343
Province of, 25, 51, 53
Railway from, to Biskra, 309
Rock of, 292
Roman remains at, 341
"Siège de," by Vernet, 291
Société Archéologique of, 355
Streets of, 294
Tomb of Constantine, near, 342
Tomb of Médracen on road from, to Batna, 344
Temperature, and rainfall at, 54

_Constantine_, tomb of, 342, 343

Constantinople, 6, 67, 101, 103, 166, 294, 299, 359, 373
Kalif of, 78
Minarets of St. Sophia at, 103
Sultans of, are religious heads, 75

_Cook_, 11, 16

Cordova, 92, 109

_Corot_, 233

Costechica, 211

_D'Annunzio_, 210

_De Amicis, Edmond_, 88

_De Nerval_, 2

_De Vegas_, 255

_Decatur_, 402

Degach, Oasis of, 428

_Delacroix_, 201

_Delattre, Père_, 396

Dellys, 287

Diana, Temple of, 346

Diana (see Zana)

_Dido_, 389, 393

_Dinet_, 5

Djeefa, temperature and rainfall at, 54

Djemel (see El-Djem)

Djerid, the, 69, 414, 421
Date-palms of the, 425
The "pearl" of the, 414
Tozeur, the capital of, 421

Djidjelli, ancient colony of Igilgili, 287

Djurjura, the, 245
Kabylie du, 287

_Don Juan of Austria_, 399

Dougga, ruined portal at, 336

_Duc d'Aumale_, 264, 267

_Dumas_, 7

_Duquesne_, 402

_Duval, M. Jules_, 277

_Eberhardt, Isabelle_, 3

Egypt, 30, 57, 78, 109, 111, 112, 113, 170, 172

El Ateuf, 333

_El Bekri_, 344

El Djem, 412-413
Amphitheatre at, 413
Thysdrus of the ancients, 412

El Guerrah, 137, 345

El Hamel, visit to Marabout of, 270-272

El Kantara, 315-319, 320, 329, 334
An artist's paradise, 317
Bridge of, 292, 300
Excursions from, 317
Gorge of, 310, 316
Hôtel Bertrand at, 315

El-Moungar, 197

El Oued, 234, 417

_Elissa_, 391

_Esculapius_, temple to, 347

_Fatmah_, sign of the hand of, 366

_Ferdinand_, 209

Fez, 60, 92, 111
Kalif of, 78
Kingdom of, 92
Sultan of, 75

Figuig, 12, 49, 221, 222, 224, 225
Grand Hôtel du Sahara, at, 11, 224
To Laghouat by caravan, 225

_Flaubert_, 389

_Flavius Maximus, Prefect_, 348

Fort National, 273, 275, 287, 288
Temperature and rainfall, 54

_Fragonard_, 233

_Fromentin_, 4

_Fronton_, 341

Gabès, 12, 23, 73, 192, 411, 417
Gulf of, the ancient Syrte, 412
Oases of, and Tozeur, 10, 411
Railway from Tlemcen to, 12
Trail to, 428

Gafsa, 109, 414, 415, 416, 427
Journey from, to Tozeur, 415-420
Railway to, 413

_Garner_, 150

_Gautier, Théophile_, 2, 102, 121, 201

_Gerhard, Paul_, work on butterflies of North Africa, 41

_Gérome_, 23

Géryville, temperature and rainfall at, 54

Ghardaïa, 11, 333

Gibraltar, 108, 400, 401
Strait of, 7, 113

_Gide, André_, 3

Goletta, La (see La Goletta)

_Gordian, Proconsul_, 412

Gorges de Chiffa, the, 243

Gorges de Maafa, 317

Gorges de Tilatou, 317

Goulette, La (see La Goletta)

Granada, 29, 107

Guerrara, 333

_Guillaumet_, 5

_Habib, the Algerian_, anecdote, 375-388

_Hadj-Ahmed_, last Bey of Constantine, 295, 297

Hamma, Valley of, 307

Hammam-Rm'hira, 11, 16, 243, 244
Its mineral springs, 243

Hammamet, 404

_Hannibal_, 389, 393

_Hanno_, 391

_Haroun-Al-Rachid_, 89, 357

_Harry, Myriam, Mme._, 3

_Hassan-ben-Nomane_, 394

_Herodotus_, 182, 412

Hippo-Diarrhytus (see Bizerta)

Hippone, 338

Hippo Regius, 338

_Houdin, Robert_, sent to Algeria, 264

_Hugo, Victor_, 2

_Hunéric_, the Vandal king, 238

_Hussein Dey_, 255

Icosium (see Algiers)

Igilgili (see Djidjelli)

Iol, Phoenician colony of, 239
(see Cherchell)

_Isabella_, 209

Jaffa, 6, 37

_Jeanne, "La Folle,"_ 209

Jerusalem, 37
Mosque of Omar, at, 109

_Jouanne_, 369

Jouggourt, incident at, 160

_Jubal II_, 237, 239

_Jugurtha_, 294

_Juno_, 347

_Jupiter_, 347

_Justinian_, 351, 352, 354

Kabylie, 11, 34, 51, 120, 248, 273, 275, 287, 288
And the Kabyles, 273-290
Des Babors, 287
Du Djurdjura, 287
Grande, 287-288
Mountain villages of, 273
Mountain women of, 283
Mountains of, 11, 52
Mountains of Grande, 53, 273, 310
Mountains of Petite, 273
Petite, 287
Story of wood-cutter of, 118-120

Kairouan, 10, 60, 101, 107, 330, 405, 408-411, 412, 417, 420
Cafés of, 411
Mosque of Okba Ibm Maffi at, 109
Mosque of Sidi-Okba, 410
Mosque of Sidi-Sahab, 410-411
Mosques of, 98

Kantara, El (see El Kantara)
The Oued, 316

Kano, 188

Kassar-Saïd, 63

Kef Cnecora, 301

Kenchela, 47, 352
Diligence from Timgad to, 351
Hôtel de France at, 352
Railway from, to Ain Beida, 352
Site of ancient Mascula, 352

Khaaba (see Blida)

_Khair Ed Din_, 255

Khoumir region, the, 340

_Kinglake_, 67

_Kings of Mauretania_, 237

_Kipling_, 428

Kolea, 234-235
Hôtel de France at, 235
"Vin Rosé" of, 35, 235

Korbus, 13

Kroubs, 342
Plan of tomb of Constantine, 342
Tomb of Constantine on road to, 343

Ksar-Baghai, Byzantine fortress at, 352

La Calle, 339-341
Coral fisheries of, 340
Sardine fisheries of, 341
The Tunizia of the Romans, 339

La Goletta, 13, 399
Canal to Tunis from, 356

La Malga, 391

La Marsa, 13, 62, 63, 391, 399-400

La Trappe, 51 (see Staouëli-La-Trappe)

Laghouat, 44, 47, 225
From Figuig by caravan, to, 225
Temperatures at, 54

Lake Tchad, 62

Lake Triton, 412

Lake of Tunis, 357

Lalla Marnia, 220
Fêtes of, 220
Numerus Syrorum of the Syrians, 220

Lambæsis (see Lambessa)

Lambese (see Lambessa)

Lambessa, 311, 336, 344, 346-348, 352, 355, 421
Aqueduct at, 348
Arch of Septimus Severus at, 347
Baths at, 347
Capitol at, 347
Forum at, 347
From Batna to, 346
Government penitentiary, 348
Lambæsis of the Romans, 346, 352
Plan of, 347
Prætorium at, 336, 346
Roman ruins at, 346
Third Legion at, 346, 350
Tomb of Flavius Maximus, 348

Lamiggiga, 345

_Livingstone, Dr._, 10

_Longfellow_, 315

_Lord Cromer_, 114

_Loti_, 4

_Louis XIV_, 255, 402

_Louis Philippe_, 201, 264

Lybia, 57, 68

Maafa, Gorges de (see Gorges de Maafa)

_Macrin, the Emperor_, 346

_Madghasen_ (see _Médracen_)

Mahdia, 109

_Mahomet_ (see _Mohammed_)

Maison Carrée, 259, 264, 265
Market of, 259-263

Majorca, 213

Mansourah, 217
Hills of, 307

_Marcus Aurelius_, 341

Marseilles, 1, 2, 6, 7, 13, 14, 15, 71, 196, 289, 409

_Maryval_, 3

Mascula (see Kenchela)

_Masqueray_, 5

_Massinissa_, 345

_Maupassants, the_, 5

Mauretania, 238
Province of, 239
Tomb of Kings of, 237

Mecca, 3, 80, 84, 95, 109
First Kouba at, 106
Pilgrimage to, 93

Médea, 217
Occupation of in 1840, 241
Road to, 243
Wines of, 35

Médenine, 73

Medina, 3, 109

_Médracen, tomb of_, 344

Melika, 333

_Merimée_, 2

_Messaoud-ben-Ghebana_, 317

Metlaoui, 414

Mila, 341

Mileum (see Mila)

Miliana, 229, 231, 241-242, 243
Mosque of Sidi-Ahmed-ben-Youssef at, 242
Zucchabar of the Romans, 241

_Minerva_, 347

Mitidja, the, 51, 227, 231, 264, 309
Agha of, 241
And the Sahel, 227-244
Moucharabias in the, 105

Mogador, 223

_Mohammed_, 77, 86, 306

_Mohammed-el-Hadi-Bey_, 59, 61

_Mohammed-en-Nacer-Bey_, 59, 63

Monastir, 71, 408
Bricks and tiles of, 72
Hôtel de Paris at, 408

_Montmaur_, 140

Monts des Ouled-Naïls, 332

Monts du Zab (see Ziban)

Morocco, 18, 22, 30, 61, 78, 109, 114, 170, 198, 206, 216, 262, 401
Jews in, 144
Kingdom of, 92
Marabouts in, 91

Morsott, 354-355
Plan of, 355
Ruins at, 354
Site of the ancient Theverte, 354

Moulouia, The, 339

Mount Chelia, 53

Mount Mourdjadja, 212

Mountains of Algeria, 53
Beni-Salah, 232
Grande Kabylie, 53, 273, 310
Kabylie, 11, 52
Petite Kabylie, 273
The Aures, 310
The Petit Atlas, 241, 245

Msaaba, Sheik of the, 11

Msaken, 134

Mustapha, 10, 16, 164, 245, 247

M'zabs, region of the, 332
Towns of the, 333

Nabeul, 405
Potteries of, 70, 405
Pottery of, 71
The ancient Neapolis, 405

_Napoleon_, Saying of, 190

Neapolis (see Nabeul)

Nédroma, 220, 221

Nefzaoua, The, 69

North Africa, 1, 2, 3, 4, 18, 28, 29, 50, 69,
170, 197, 220, 221, 229, 232, 273, 289, 312,
330, 334, 337, 346, 382, 409, 412, 417, 427
Arab of, the, 114
Arabian horse-flesh, rare in, 169
Arabs and Berbères Arabisés of, 79
Climate of, 37-38
Germans in, 40-41
Possibilities of trade with America and, 38-39
Races met with in, 129
Railways of, 1
Social system of races of, 142
Tlemcen, the most original city in, 213
Arab of most interest in, 144-145
Donkey's paradise, 173
Garden of, 227
Land of the burnous, 136
Mauresques of, 163-165
Moorish coffee shops of, 323-324
Path of the Roman through, 336
North African Arab, The, 251

Numerus Syrorum, (see Lalla Marnia)

Numidia, 53 (see Tell, The)

_Numidian Kings_, 341

Oasis of Degach, 428

Oasis of Gabès, 10

_Okba-ben-Nafi_, 329

_Okba-ben-Nofi_, 409

_Omar, The Khalif_, 109, 110

Oran, 12, 37, 42, 50, 129, 144, 206, 209-213
Cathedral of St. Louis at, 212
From, to the Morocco frontier, 209-226
Grande Mosquée at, 212
Markets of, 210
Population of, 209
Province of, 51

Ouarda (see Blida)

Ouardja, 234

Ouarsenis, The, 242

Oudjda, 220
Fêtes of, 220

Oued Bou-Saada, The, 272

Oued Kantara, The, 316

Oued-Righ, valley of the, 53

Oued-Souf, 10, 225, 334
Maison Française at, 11

_Ouida_, 18, 19

Ourgala, 417

Paris, 6, 11, 31, 42, 173, 196, 227

Passage des Roches, 300

Pasteur, 345
Site of the ancient Lamiggiga, 345

_Pedro Navarro_, 254, 290

_Percy's Reliques_, (anecdote), 101

Perrégaux, railway from, south, 221

Petit Atlas, The, 245
Mountains of, 241

Philippeville, 52, 213, 307-308
Rusicade of the ancients, 341

_Pliny_, 32, 182

_Point, Armand_, 5

Pointe Pescade, 164, 235

Pomaria (see Tlemcen)

Port Saïd, 6, 40, 101, 294

_Potter_, 5

_Pygmalion_, 391

_Rabelais_, 16

_Rhodes, Cecil_, 10, 62

_Richepin_, 428

Rovigo, steam-tram to, 264

Rivière des Sables, 300

Rocher du Lac, 301

Ruisseau des Singes, 243
Hôtel at the, 243

Rummel, The, 292, 300

Rummel, The Gorge of The, 293, 298, 299-301
Ruins of bridge across, 342

Rusicade (see Philippeville)

_St. Augustin_, Bishop of Hippo Regius, 338

_St. Cyprien_, 393

_St. Perpétua_, 393

_St. Vincent de Paul_, 399

_Saddok-Bey_, 59

Sahel, The, 67, 70, 71, 229, 231, 248, 254
The Mitidja, and The, 227-244

Saint Eugène, 164, 235, 245

_Salah Raïs_, Pacha of Algiers in 1555, 237

_Salah Bey_, Mosque of, 295, 342

_Salambo_, 393
Opera of, 389

Saldae (see Bougie)

_Salomon_, 354

_Sallust_, 293

_Salsa_, patron saint of Tipaza, 238

_Scipio_, 389

_Septimus Severus_, arch built under, 347

Seriana (see Pasteur)

Setif, 239, 289
Population of, 287

Seville, minaret of the Giralda, at, 111

Sfax, 12, 72, 93, 411, 412, 420, 427
Railway from, to Gafsa, 413
Railway from, to Tozeur, 414

_Si-Ali-Bey_, 59, 60, 61

_Sid Ben Gannah_, Grand chef of the Sud-Constantinois, 233

_Sidi-Ahmed-ben-Youssef_, the marabout, 242

Sidi-bou-Saïd, 13, 391, 398-399

_Sidi-Brahim_, the marabout, 106
Tomb of, 338

_Sidi-el-Hadji-Abd-el-Kader-el-Djilali_, 93

Sidi-Ferruch, 235

_Sidi Hassin_, 348-350

Sidi-M'cid, hills of, 307

Sidi-Okba, 329-330
Arab school at, 330
Café restaurant at, 329
Mosque at, 330
Shrine of, 329
Tomb of, at, 330

_Sinan Pacha_, 399

_Sittius_, 341

Souk-Ahras, 50, 345

Sousse, 72, 405-408, 409, 411, 412, 413, 420
By rail or road from Nabeul to, 405
Citadel of, 407
Kasba of, 407
Population of, 406
Souks of, 406

Spain, 2, 23, 35-36, 57, 92, 110, 112, 129, 176, 213, 292, 400
Arabs and Moors of, 115
Oran, a penal colony of, 211

_Stanley_, 10

Staouëli-la-Trappe, 236
Abbey at, 236

Stora, 307
A port of antiquity, 338
Gulf of, 307
Roman quais at, 36

Sud-Algérie, 34

Sud-Algerien, The goum of the, 206

Sud-Constantinois, 12, 225, 321

Sud-Oranais, 34, 221, 224
Spread of civilization in, 222

Sud-Tunisien, 62, 338, 412
Sheep of the, 418

Syrte, The (see Gulf of Gabès)

_Tacitus_, 182

Tamerza, 423

Tangier, 40, 111, 403

Tebessa, 336, 344, 345, 352-354, 355, 421
Arch of Triumph at, 336, 353
Byzantine walls, 353-354
Plan of, 353
To, from Ain-Beïda, 352
Temperature and rainfall at, 54

Tell, The, 52, 309, 336
A Caïd of the, 138
Roman cities of, 344
The Numidia of the ancients, 53

_Tertullian_, 393

Theverte (see Morsott)

Thamugadi (see Timgad)

Thusuras (see Tozeur)

Thysdrus (see El-Djem)

Tilatou, Gorges de (see Gorges de Tilatou)

Timgad, 311, 336, 344, 348-351, 352, 421
Byzantine fortress at, 351
Diligence from, to Kenchela, 351
Guide, 348-350
"Guide Illustré de," 351
Hôtel Meille at, 348
Plan of, 349
Thamugadi of the ancients, 350, 352

Tipaza, 237, 238, 248, 338
Population of, 238
Roman ruins at, 238
To Cherchell, 239

Tirourda, The pass of, 288

Tizi-Ouzou, 248, 273, 287
Diligence from, to Fort National, 288
Railway not beyond, 274
Troops of, 206

Tlemcen, 10, 11, 12, 16, 23, 53, 101, 213-220, 221, 268, 338
Camel Caravans from, 178
Legend of Mosque of Mansourah, 217-219
Minaret of El Mansourah at, 111
Minaret of Sidi-bou-Medine, 111
Mosque of Djama l'Hassen at, 215
Mosque of El Haloui, 216
Mosque of El Mansourah at, 109
Mosques in, 98
Pomaria of the Romans, 213, 338
Population of, 215
Railway from Oran to, 213
Siege of, in 3d century, 216
Temperature and rainfall in, 54

Touabet, Mt., 53

Touggourt, 11, 12, 44, 225, 411
The Touaregs south of, 190

Tozeur, 11, 12, 73, 225, 338, 420-429
Architecture of, 421
Hotel at, 422, 428
Journey from Gafsa to, 415-420
Market at, 422
Oases of Gabès and, 411, 414
Oasis of, 414-429
Thusuros of the ancients, 338
View from Minaret of Ouled-Medjed at, 428

_Trajan_, 350

Tripoli, 61, 62, 113, 170
Caravans in, 188
De Barbarie, 30
In Barbary, 12, 61, 114, 401, 403
Pacha of, 402
Pirates of, 403

Tunis, 1, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 26,
30, 54, 58, 67, 70, 71, 72, 105, 129,
135, 144, 173, 246, 252, 268, 284, 289,
294, 299, 326, 411, 412
A city of consulates, 358
A Jew of (anecdote), 362-363
And The Souks, 356-370
Arab town of, the, 359, 367, 368
Bardo, 367
Bey of (anecdote), 124-126
Camel caravans from, 178
Danseuses of, 128
Dar El-Bey at, 296, 366, 367
En route from, to Bizerta, 397
Foreigners in, 28
Gates of Arab city of, 367
Jewesses of, 283
Jewish dancers of, 369
Kasba, 367
La Musique Beylicale at, 122
La ville, 67
Lake of, 357
Life of, 364
Minarets of, 103
Minaret of Ez-Zitouna at, 111
Minaret of the Kasba, 111
Moorish cafés, 368
Mosque of Djama Ez-Zitouna at, 109
Mosque of Sidi-Mahrez, 372
Old, 371
Population of, 365
Prosperity of, 67
Souks of the old town of, 371-372
Souks or bazaars of, 359-362, 398, 400, 403, 404, 409, 411, 412
Steam-tram from, to Carthage, 390

Tunisia, 22, 31, 46, 59, 63, 69, 78, 98, 99, 107, 113,
144, 147, 170, 176, 197, 262, 403, 408, 409, 411, 423
Army a necessity for, 60
Authorization for travel into interior of, 73
Efforts at colonizing the Régence of, 73
Greater prosperity to come to, 62
Kairouan, The Holy City of, 405, 408
Lybia of the ancients, 57, 68
Need of capital in, 69
Political status of native of, 64, 65, 66
Railways of, 72
Régence of, and the Tunisians, 57-73
Taxes in, 34
Vineyards of, in 1900, 68

Tunisia and Algeria, 24, 108, 114
Koubas in, 331

Tunizia (see La Calle)

Utica, 397
Plan of ancient, 398
Ruins at, 398

_Valée, General_, 292

_Vernet, Horace_, 201, 291

_Yacoub-el-Nansourd, The Sultan_, 111

_Yusuf_, 200

Zana, 345-346
Byzantine fortress at, 346
Diana of the ancients, 345
Temple of Diana at, 346
Triumphal arches at, 346

Zaccar-Gharbi, The, 241

Ziban, The, 53, 331, 332
Inhabitants of, 331

_Ziem_, 5

_Zorah-ben-Mohammed_, incident of, 269, 270

Zucchabar (see Miliana)

* * * * *

Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:

Sud-Algerie=> Sud-Algérie {pg 34}

compared wih California or Bermuda=> compared with California or Bermuda {pg 37}

Kassar-Said=> Kassar-Saïd {pg 63}

Berberes Arabisés=> Berbères Arabisés {pg 79}

no eyes with which to sea=> no eyes with which to see {pg 127}

arcades and faiences=> arcades and faïences {pg 295}

Hamam-Rm'hira=> Hammam-Rm'hira {pg 436}

_Haroun-Al-Raschid_, 89, 357=> _Haroun-Al-Rachid_, 89, 357 {pg 436}

Sidi-bou-Said, 13, 391, 398-399=> Sidi-bou-Said, 13, 391, 398-399 {pg 440}

_Alfaoui, the Algerian_, 923, 924=> _Alfaoui, the Algerian_, 339, 340 {pg 431}