. Europe and other continents . Fig. 308. Biskra, in Algeria, on the northern edge of the Sahara. 428 AFRICA Much of the soil is fertile, and with rainfall would yieldabundant crops. But nature has forbidden rain, and itssurface is therefore barren in the extreme. Only on theoases, of which there are some four hundred in the Sahara,is there the necessary drinking water which renders hu-man life possible in the Fig. negro hut in Zululand. Caravans cross this desert, one of the important routes beingfrom Tafilet in Morocco, southward to Timbukto. There maybe from a thousand to fif
. Europe and other continents . Fig. 308. Biskra, in Algeria, on the northern edge of the Sahara. 428 AFRICA Much of the soil is fertile, and with rainfall would yieldabundant crops. But nature has forbidden rain, and itssurface is therefore barren in the extreme. Only on theoases, of which there are some four hundred in the Sahara,is there the necessary drinking water which renders hu-man life possible in the Fig. negro hut in Zululand. Caravans cross this desert, one of the important routes beingfrom Tafilet in Morocco, southward to Timbukto. There maybe from a thousand to fifteen hundred camels in one caravan,and a full year may be required to equip it. Each camel iscarefully selected by the chief of the caravan, and many extracamels are taken along to replace those that give out on thejourney. There is one driver for every dozen camels. Upon starting, the loads are carefully packed on the camelsbacks, each animal bearing about three hundred pounds. A THE 8 AH ABA 429 clays march lasts sixteen hours, the camels travelling some thirtyabreast at the rate of about two miles an hour. Ordinary camelscannot travel more than three days without drinking; but thebetter grades are able to go for six or seven days without waterand with almost no food. The trip across the Sahara, fromnorth to south, requires fully three months. Estimate the dis-tance. At best nearly a third of the animals peri
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectgeograp, bookyear1901
