IN CIVILIZED FRENCH AFRICA 



311 



world. England has long been held up 

 as the ideal of colonial perfection, but 

 England colonizes by force of arms. We 

 have prided ourselves on our own recent 

 experiments and endeavors in that line 

 of work. Germany has many model col- 

 onies scattered about in various parts of 

 the world, but they could all go to France 

 and study her methods with much ben- 

 efit. 



France does not flaunt the tri-color, 

 the flag of the conqueror, in the face of 

 the vanquished native ; they do not med- 

 dle with the religions or the customs of 

 the people. They teach the French lan- 

 guage to the Arabs, but in return they 

 learn Arabic; they adopt the customs of 

 the natives as well as give them their 

 own. The French regiments on service 

 in northern Africa are uniformed in a 

 dress almost like the dress of the Arab, 

 and in this way they become a part of 

 the people of the country ; yet they are 

 always French, and they never lose any- 

 thing by concessions they make in these 

 customs. The Arab caids are consulted 

 and their advice is given such weight as 

 it deserves. All the public buildings are 

 built in Moorish style, and thus the 

 characteristic architecture of the country 

 is preserved. The school-houses through- 

 out the country are striking examples of 

 this excellent policy on the part of the 

 French. 



During the several weeks' motoring in 

 the two colonies I do not think that I 

 saw half a dozen French flags outside 

 the cities of Algiers and Tunis. I state 

 this merely to show that it is not the 

 idea of the French people to continually 

 flaunt their flag in the faces of the na- 

 tives, but rather to let it be considered 

 an emblem of protection to their rights. 

 The courts are impartial and just, and 

 Frenchman and native alike obtain jus- 

 tice ; nor does France impose prohibitive 

 duties upon the products of the countries 

 when she enters the home ports. 



The picturesque side of these colonies 

 cannot be overestimated, for the scenery 

 affords everything from the most gor- 



geous rocky mountains to the great mys- 

 terious desert. At Biskra the Arab Caid 

 Ben Bou Aziz entertained us in the "Gar- 

 den of Allah" and took us far south to 

 Sidi Okba, an oasis upon which stands 

 the shrine of the great Arab warrior who 

 conquered northern Africa in A. D. 680, 

 and where about 3,000 natives live in 

 exactly the same manner as their fore- 

 fathers did 2,000 years ago. As we wan- 

 dered through the narrow streets the 

 natives crowded about the chief Bou Aziz, 

 and each one kissed the hem of his bur- 

 nouse. The only sign of modern civili- 

 zation I saw in this oasis town was one 

 shop, where a native tailor worked away 

 on Arabic costumes on the ever-present 

 Singer sewing-machine, which has prob- 

 ably penetrated to more remote parts of 

 the world than any one American prod- 

 uct. At luncheon, in a pavillion under 

 the date-palm tree, where the sands were 

 carpeted with rare silk rugs, we were 

 served with desert foods, the most 

 curious of all being a small camel roasted* 

 whole ; also an entire sheep served to be 

 picked to pieces with the fingers.* 



Not the least of interest in these north- 

 ern African states are the old Roman 

 ruins which are being restored and pre- 

 served by the French government. At 

 Timgad and Dougga there are better ex- 

 amples of Roman architecture than we 

 find in southern Europe. The theater 

 and baths of Timgad are in a far better 

 state of preservation than anything in 

 Italy. 



In all it is an intensely interesting 

 country, easy of access to travelers by 

 train, and especially by motors, for every 

 hotel has its garage. In Algiers we find 

 a city absolutely French in every detail, 

 more French than Marseilles. From 

 that we can go to every degree of civili- 

 zation and interest, but over it all comes 

 the great thought of the credit due to the 

 French government for its great work. 



* See also "Biskra — the Ziban Queen,"' by 

 Mrs Bosson, with 30 illustrations. National 

 Geographic Magazine, August, 1908. 



