10 



ALGERIA AND THE SEA. 



for covering the native boats, and the tough 

 parts are made into boots; their intestines are 

 sewed together into water-proof garments; 

 their stomach- walls are used as oil-pouches ; 

 their carcasses are preserved by hanging in the 

 open air for the winter's supply of meat ; and 

 their mustache-bristles are sold to the Chi- 

 nese for use as pickers to opium-pipes, and in 

 the ceremonies of the joss-houses. These ani- 

 mals are far less numerous than the fur-seals. 

 Air. Elliot does not believe that the number of 

 them, resorting to the islands for breeding pur- 

 poses, exceeds ten or twelve thousand. 



ALGERIA AND THE SEA. The popula- 

 tion of Algeria, according to the census of 

 1881, is as follows: 



The inhabitants of Algeria are of two dis- 

 tinct races the Arabs, who invaded and con- 

 quered the country, and the Kabyles, who have 

 lived in the country since the time of the Ro- 

 mans, and who were driven into the mountains 

 by the Arabs. Great differences exist between 

 these two races. The Kabyles speak a lan- 

 guage which is not understood by the Arabs. 

 They build houses, have a municipal organiza- 

 tion which was given to them by the Romans, 

 and cultivate with care small tracts of land, 

 fence and protect them like the Europeans. 

 They hate the Arabs, to whose rule they have 

 never entirely submitted. The ruins of former 

 Kabyle villages can be found in many places. 

 The Kabyles retain to the present day the 

 traditions of the cruel conquest of the Arabs. 

 On the other hand, the Arabs are an idle and 

 destructive race. They do not cultivate more 

 ground than is necessary to produce a supply 

 for their immediate wants, and even this little 

 is done without care and without method. The 

 two races are described by recent French au- 

 thors, the one as industrious and capable of be- 

 ing civilized, the other lazy, vicious, and entirely 

 opposed to civilization. They have completely 

 separated from each other, and are kept apart 

 by their mutual antipathy. It is now proposed 

 that the French shall make an effort to attract 

 the Kabyles by presenting themselves to the 

 latter as their liberators, and inviting them to 

 descend from their mountains to the fertile 

 plains which formerly were occupied by their 

 ancestors. Thus, it is thought, the French 

 Government would be able to reduce its army 

 of occupation, by opposing the Kabyles to the 

 Arabs. 



The question of creating a large inland sea 

 on the south of Algeria has long been agitated 

 in France. A few years ago Commandant 

 Roudaire carefully examined the desert which 



it is proposed to change into a sea, and made 

 an estimate of the cost. Afterward he organ- 

 ized a company ready to undertake the work. 

 He then applied to the French Government for 

 a concession to go on with the enterprise ; and 

 the latter, on April 2Vth, appointed an extraor- 

 dinary commission to investigate the subject in 

 all its bearings. The plan of Commandant 

 Roudaire is to change into a sea the three 

 great natural depressions on the south of Al- 

 geria, called Shotts, known as Rharsa, Melrir, 

 and El-Djerid, which extend from east to west 

 to the Gulf of Gabes, in Tunis. Of these only 

 the first two lie below the level of the sea, while 

 the surface of El-Djerid is on an average 66 feet 

 above, so that a canal would have to be dug 

 through the latter, in order to fill the other two 

 with water. This canal would be about 190 miles 

 long, and, although passing through a desert, 

 could be constructed. With regard to the cost, 

 M. Roudaire estimated that about 46,800,000 

 cubic yards of sand and clay and 1,950,000 

 cubic yards of rock would have to be removed, 

 which, at 15 cents per cubic yard, would 

 amount to $7,500,000. For other digging and 

 excavation M. Roudaire estimates $2,800,000, 

 which, together with the cost of the necessary 

 machines, and $4,000,000 for miscellaneous 

 expenditures, would bring the total amount to 

 about $15,000,000. This sum had been sub- 

 scribed, and the company only asked of the 

 Government the concession, and the land which 

 will border on the sea. Among the receipts ex- 

 pected by the company, the principal ones were 

 those from fisheries and salt-works which were 

 to be established. 



The commission appointed by the Govern- 

 ment divided itself into three sub-commissions 

 the first a technical one, which was to ex- 

 amine into the feasibility of the project ; the 

 second a physical commission, which was to 

 examine into the meteorological and sanitary 

 conditions; and the third a political one, to 

 investigate the question from a political, stra- 

 tegical, moral, and commercial view. The first 

 and most important sub-commission came- to 

 the conclusion that the plan was a feasible one, 

 and could be practically carried out. With 

 regard to the cost, however, the commission 

 rejected completely M. Roudaire's estimates. 

 According to its own calculation, it arrives at 

 the following result : If the Shotts are to be 

 filled in to the necessary height, it would require 

 a constant flow of 243 cubic yards of water 

 per second in order to make up the losses by 

 evaporation, and to keep the sea at the proper 

 level. The canals must be wide and deep 

 enough to furnish this amount of water, while, 

 at the same time, the current must not exceed 

 1 foot per second. According to the estimates 

 of the commission, the construction of the 

 canal would cost, in ordinary ground, 15^ cents 

 per cubic yard, and for rocks 46 cents per 

 cubic yard, or, in all, $90,600,000. In order 

 to fill the proposed sea, 223,600,000,000 cubic 

 yards of water would be necessary, and, to do 



