THE COUNTRY OF THE ANT MEN 



377 



R.S.SHAW 



outline map of the; souf country 



of this interesting race. For building 

 material they are forced to depend upon 

 the gypseous rock of the country and 

 upon cement manufactured from it. 

 Even the roofs are made of this sub- 

 stance, for in the Oued Souf date palms 

 are too precious to be sacrificed for 

 building purposes. Either because the 

 material has not sufficient cohesion or 

 because the architectural skill of the 

 people is not equal to the construction 

 of large arches, the roofs consist of 

 rows of small flattened cupolas. Con- 

 sequently, when seen from a distance, a 

 village of the Souf looks like a cluster 

 of drab-colored bee-hives. 



A feature of the towns which brings 

 them into sharp contrast with the usual 

 Arab village is their extraordinary 

 cleanliness. Sand, the great purifier, is 

 continually drifting among the houses, 

 hiding with its mantle of charity the 

 refuse that offends the traveler's senses 

 in most North African towns. 



El Oued, the capital, numbers about 

 5,000 people, or one-fifth of the total 

 population of the region. It contains few 

 curiosities. Apart from a large mosque,, 

 the most conspicuous structures are steel 

 wind-mills of American manufacture. 

 The names of the streets are announced 

 by neat blue-and-white placards at the 

 corners. One notices that celebrated 

 African explorers have been commemo- 

 rated in such names as ''Rue Duveyrier," 

 "Place Flatters," etc. The district is ad- 

 ministered by French army officers of 

 the "Bureau Indigene," under whose 

 supervision two caids mete out justice 

 to the natives. 



One of the most interesting episodes 

 of my sojourn in the Oued Souf was a 

 visit to El Amiche, a village situated a 

 few miles south of El Oued. Here I 

 was entertained at luncheon by the mar- 

 about, a highly venerated leader of the 

 "Khadraya" sect of Mohammedans. The 

 holy man served me with his own hands 



