414 ARTESIAN WELLS. 



litical and from a commercial point of view; for it 

 is obvious that if a chain of these wells proved suc- 

 cessful in tapping springs, yielding an abundant and 

 permanent supply of water, along one or more of the 

 caravan routes across the Sahara, until the region of 

 the tropical rains is reached ; the question of a Trans- 

 Saharian railway will be solved, and everyone not 

 blinded by international jealousies must wish the French 

 God Speed in their attempts to accomplish this great 

 work. 



A paragraph in the Times headed " A Natural 

 Reservoir in the Sahara" (dated Paris, April loth, 

 1891), records what is probably one of the latest and 

 most valuable instances of the success of French 

 enterprise in this way; and says, 



"A large body of water has been discovered at El Golea, 

 in the Sahara Desert, about 120 feet below the surface. It 

 throws up nearly forty gallons a minute, at present, and it 

 is anticipated that the yield will increase. The discovery is 

 regarded as of high importance, as this is the first time 

 water has been found in the Sahara at such a slight depth 

 underground. " * 



El Golea, which we have already mentioned as an 

 oasis where a good example of a desert well of old 

 Roman workmanship was to be seen, is the site of 

 an ancient Arab town of considerable importance, on 

 the direct caravan route between Algiers and Insalah. 

 It is situated on a rocky mountainous eminence and 

 is mostly constructed in dressed stonework of Roman 

 workmanship, and is better built than any of the other 

 towns of the Sahara.! As a fortress somewhat in 



* Reuter's Telegram in London Times of April nth, 1891. 

 f Le Grand Desert, par Eugene Daumas, ex-director des Affaires 

 Arabes a Alger, Paris, 1848, p. 36. 



