582 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



few feet of the ground, we rarely availed ourselves of our oppor- 

 tunity. The system of irrigation that is here carried on is so perfect 

 that, despite the excessive heat of the summer season and the three 

 months of dry heat that had already passed, we were scarcely able to 

 discover a dry leaf or shoot among the hundreds of thousands by 

 which we were surrounded. This was indeed a most extraordinary 

 aspect, and one that specially appealed to the eye looking down from 

 a mountain elevation. 



A cluster of mud or adobe houses, whose one-storied rooms lie 

 beneath the impending leaves of the palm, constitute the Arab vil- 

 lage to the inhabitants of which is apportioned the proprietorship of 

 the oasis. The Arabs here are naturally not nomads, but permanent 

 fixtures, to whom a life in the desert has little of that Africa asso- 

 ciated with it which is the proper service of the Arab of the caravan. 

 Under the guidance of Ben-Labri we visited a number of the houses, 

 most of which were constituted of two or three almost entirely vacant 

 rooms, capped by thatchings of palm leaves. In some instances a 

 semblance of a second story was presented by a projecting veranda, 

 on which was pitched a round tent. What little of woodwork was 

 necessary for the support of the walls or the roof, or to outline door- 

 ways and windows, was mainly constructed from the shaft of the 

 palm, but a rather incongruous piece of architecture occasionally 

 carried the eye to bits or entire frames of Venetian blinds. A 

 somewhat rarer element of construction was to be found in blocks of 

 ancient Roman masonry, whose fanciful carvings at one time graced 

 much more imposing structures of the desert. It must be admitted 

 that the first inspection of the hard earth flooring of the houses, with 

 visions of scorpions and centipeds coursing over it in wild affray, or 

 of a lurking horned viper eagerly scanning the path of each intruder, 

 was not immediately conducive to a real desire to share its space ; but 

 a few moments' careful study of corners and imder-spaces, which 

 brought out only wandering humpbacked ants, soon dispelled the 

 first feeling of uncanniness which a conceived danger inspires, and 

 with the assistance of a large mat we were soon placed at ease and 

 comparative comfort. We visited one of the schools, where the 

 teacher as in days of old was inculcating the doctrines of the Koran 

 to some twelve or fifteen little barefooted urchins, and also went 

 through the village mosque. Judiciously taking the border of the 

 room, or in the center avoiding the holy carpet, we were allowed to 

 enter far enough to gratify a photographer's passion, and in a few 

 minutes' time the drop-shutter announced several pictures taken. 



Surprising as from many points of view was this oasis of El- 

 Kantara, it only cleared the way for a still greater surprise when we 

 reached Biskra, the present terminus of the Constantine-Saharan 



