Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/240

 196 NORTH-WEST AFRICA. Valley, the basin of the "Wed Melian, and the Dakhelat-el-Mahuin peninsula, are included within the military circle of Tunis. The quadrilateral group of mountains and hills bounded south by the course of the Mejerda, has the town of Beja for its capital, and the Camp of Ain-Draham has been established in the centre of this region to overawe the Khumir tribes. The mountainous districts which separate the Mejerda from the affluents of Lake Kelbia have the town of El-Kef as a military centre, while the rugged hamada region is commanded by the camp of Suk- el-Jemaa. Kairwan is the natural capital of the plains and valleys which slope towards Lake Kelbia, and the Sahel at Ras Kapudiuh is divided into two sections, one depending upon SQsa, the other on Sfakes. The natural centre of the steppes and isolated highlands of Northern Tunisia, as far as the depression of the shotts, is Gafsa, and the whole of the southern region as far as the Tripolitana frontier and the desert, forms the military district of Cabes, in some respects the most impor- tant of all, because it commands the entrance of the Saharian regions, and would enable an enemy to invade Algerian territory by the southecn face of the Aures mountains. The regency is divided administratively into iitans, or departments of varying extent, each governed by a kaid, assisted by one or more khalifas, or " lieutenants," according to the importance of the province. The towns, villages, and tribal com- munities are ruled by sheikhs, who levy their fees directly on their subjects. Such fees are known euphemistically as the "price of slippers," the boots worn out in the public service being looked upon by these officials as a justification of their extor- tions. The municipal commissions which sit in a few communes, such as Goletta, El- Kef, Bizerta, Susa, and Sfakes, are composed of resident Europeans, nominated by the Government, and of Mussulmans elected by the notables. The utans have been frequently changed in nimiber. At the time of the French annexation, there were more than twenty, not including those of special tribes, nomad or half-settled, which were administered separately.