Recent French Explorations in Africa 121 



M. Fernand Foureau 

 " If it can be done, I shall do it " 



the Baro and Didessa. Finally, on June 

 22, 1898, two members of the party, 

 MM. Potter and Faivre, who followed 

 an army of King Menelik, reached the 

 Nile, but were not able to remain there 

 because they had insufficient supplies. 

 While these parties were working in 

 the basin of the Nile, another no less 

 important expedition, led by M. Fer- 

 nand Foureau, left southern Algeria, 

 intending to cross the Sahara from 

 north to south in order to connect the 

 French possessions of West Africa, the 

 Niger, and the Tchad. All previous 

 attempts to carry out this plan had 

 been thwarted by the fierce Touaregs, 

 those hardy bandits, who, fleeing on 

 their swift camels, are the masters of 

 the Sahara from Tripoli to Timbuktu 



and Tchad. The last French expedi- 

 tion organized to cross the desert, led 

 by Colonel Flatters, had been massacred 

 (1881). The Touaregs had not been 

 chastised for their crime, and hence had 

 become more audacious than ever. 



The Foureau expedition was essen- 

 tially scientific and peaceful in its aims, 

 but the surest way of being peaceful is 

 to be strong and able to compel respect by 

 arms. The French Government there- 

 fore gave M. Foureau a military escort 

 consisting of 285 Algerian soldiers and 

 equippedwithtwo Hotchkiss guns. The 

 squadron included only 28 Europeans 

 and was commanded by Captain Lamy. 

 One thousand camels carried the pro- 

 visions and supplies. 



On the 23d of October, 1898, the 

 expedition left Ouargla, marching di- 

 rectly southward for Air. The Sahara 

 does not consist simply of stretches of 

 sand ; the zone of great dunes is suc- 

 ceeded by rocky plateaux and sharp, 

 abrupt ravines. The crossing of this 

 country presented fearful hardships. 

 The first plateau, that of Tindesset 

 (2,200 feet), required four days of effort 

 and cost the lives of 40 camels. After- 

 ward the climbing of the massifs of 

 Tassili, Adrar, and Anahef caused the 

 caravan much suffering. The divide 

 between the waters of the Mediter- 

 ranean and Atlantic passes along these 

 ridges ; at the point where Foureau 

 crossed, it reaches a height of 4,533 feet ; 

 further to the west the mountains rise 

 to 5,400 feet, and in AJiaggar the sum- 

 mits are as high as 6,000 feet, and in 

 winter are sometimes covered with snow. 

 The mountain relief is here much more 

 prominent than has been supposed. 

 Foureau's observations have shown that 

 the water parting is 188 miles farther 

 to the south than is given on the maps. 

 In the county of Tassili the caravan 

 experienced quite low temperatures, 

 13. 8° Fahrenheit, January 3, 1899. 

 Beyond the plateaux stretches a barren 

 sea of rocks ; no water, no trees, rare 



