Fountains In The Sand Rambles Among The Oases Of Tunisia

es of the Djerid, Tozeur and Nefta, a corner of Tunisia left unexplored during my last visit to that country-there, where the inland regions shel

r its pages as the train wound southwards along sterile river-beds and across dusty highlands, I became interested in this place of Gafsa, which seems to have

right thing to do; all my fellow-travellers were agreed upon that point; leaving Sfa

h Gafsa by wa

er; the country was no doubt new and interesting. There was the station of Feriana, for instance, celebrated for its Roman antiquities and well worth a visit; I looked at the map and saw a broad road connecting this place w

willed

e cold, apart from their distance from the station, rendered this impossible; in order to reach the shed where luncheon was served, we were obliged to crawl backwards, crab-wise, to protect our faces from a storm which raised pebbles, the size of respectable peas, from the ground, and scattered them in a hail about us. I despair of giving any idea of that glacial blast: it was as if one stood, deprived of clothing, of skin and flesh-a jabbering anatom

nd; Sbeitla, to be sure, lay at a high point of the line, but the cold was no better at the present terminus, Henchir Souatir, whither he was bound on some business connected with the big phosphate company. On such occasions

projected evening ride ac

fashion, as though I had proposed a tri

earth didn't yo

has been sugges

believe it

far as Majen, a few stations beyond Feriana; sleep there in an Arab funduk (caravanserai), and thank my stars if I found any one willing to supply me with a beast for the journey onward next morning. There are practically no tourists along this line, he explained, and

id, as we took our seats in the c

once undertaken, in India, with the identical object of avoiding a long circuitous

hings were b

fsa, pray let me give you a card to a friend of mine, who lives there

e de la Concorde.... Nothing but minerals hereabouts," he went on. "They talk and dream of them, and sometimes their dreams come true. Did you observe the young proprietor of the restaurant at Sbeitla? Well, a short time ago some Arabs bro

en.

ivilized man. Night descended with the rush of a storm, and as the friendly train disappeared from my view, I seemed to have taken leave of everything human. This feeling was not lessened by my reception at the funduk, whose native manager

ling, I tried bribery,

my translation of it being confirmed and even improved upon, at the expense of veracity, by a spahi (native cavalryman) who happen

, "is plainly a fine fellow.

ssi. What

ed the official stamp of the Ponts et Chaussées-the Department of Public Works for whose servants

the document proudly-"

a horse in the morning-

e!" And he s

Your incorruptible Oriental is always disag

to Gafsa. In this instrument of torture were spent the hours from 7.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., memories of that ride being blurred by the physical discomfort endured. Over a vast plateau framed in distant mountains we were wending in the direction of a low gap

passed a few nomad families whose children were tearing out the wiry stuff-it is never cut in Tunisia-which is then loaded on camels and conveyed to the nearest depot on the railway line, a

harmonious line of dark palm trees, with white houses and minarets in between. A familiar vision, and often described; yet one that never fails of its effect. A man may weary, after a while, of camels and bedouin maidens and all the picturesque paraphernalia

nt my steps; it was too late; the wintry sun had gone to rest. The oasis still lay visible, extended at my feet; on the other side I detected, some three miles away, a white spot-a house, no d

and he ran away. But the stone remained in my hand; I glanced at it, and saw that it was an implement of worked flint. Here was a discovery! Who were these carvers of stones, the aboriginals o

re which was lighted a fire that threw gleams into its recesses; there was a family crouching around it;

erocious bangle-ornaments, tattooings, and nondescript blue rags open at the side and revealing charms well fitted to disquiet some robust savage-what has such a creature in common with the rest of us? Not even certain raptures, misdeemed primeval; hardly more than what falls to man and beast alike. On my appearance, sh

his flock on the slopes of the opposite Jebel Guetter, returning at nightfall; he tried to be ci