Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/303

 CX)NSTANTINE. 246 Less than half a mile south of the Mokta-cl-Hadid works, lies the important station of Ain Mokhrn, which is unfortunately exposed to the exhalations from Jjake Fetzara. This lagoon or morass, which has a mean depth of little over 6 feet, is evidently the remains of an old inlet forming a continuation of the present Gulf of Bona across the now-dried-up plains of the Mafreg and Mebuja rivers. The question of its drainage has frequently been discussed, and should this project be carried out, over 30,000 acres of rich alluvial soil will be brought under cultiva- tion. In summer the basin is nearly dry, and it might be easily diverted to the lower Seybouse by reducing the bed of the Mebuja to a lower level than the present level of the lake. The railway connecting Ain Mokhra with Bona is soon to be continued west- wards in the direction of the station of Saint-Charles, on the Constantine-Philippe- ville line. Were it also extended to the coast by skirting the Filfila headland, the works might be resumed in the famous marble mines of this district, interrupted since the time of the Romans. In the Wed-el-Kebir basin, which flows to the gulf sheltered by Cape de Fer, the only important European town is Jemviapes, situated in a rich and well- watered district. The local Berber tribe of the Sanhejas has preserved the name formerly borne by the powerful Zenaga nation. The name of the Zenaga or Senegal River, over 2,000 miles from this place, also attests the former extension of the Berber race dispersed by the Arab invaders. CONSTANTINE. Constantine, capital of the eastern department, is one of the famous cities of Africa. From the dawn of Mauritanian history this great natural stronghold appears under the name of Cirta, that is, the * fortress," as the word is commonly interpreted. The title of Constantine, preserved by the Arabs under the form of K'sant/iiiia, was conferred on it at the beginning of the fourth century, in honour of the Emperor Constantine. The extensive ruins scattered over the district attest the important position of this ancient capital of Kumidia and centre of the Roman dominion in North Africa. But its very strength necessarily exposed it to frequent attack, and according to the local tradition, it was taken no less than eighty times. By its capture in 1837 the French secured a solid footing in the interior of the eastern Tell, and easily crushed all local risings, henceforth deprived of a common rallying-point. The city proper occupies a gently inclined rocky table, whose northern head- land rises to a height of 2,100 feet, or 360 feet higher than the opiX)sitc point. The whole terrace forms a somewhat regular trapeze, with a circuit of nearly 2 miles, and detached by deep ravines from the rest of the plateau on all sides except towards the south-west. The steep escarpments facing south-east and north-east rise precipitously above the bed of the Rummel, which plunges into these gloomy gorges soon after its confluence with the Bu-Merzug. Of the five bridges formerly connecting the two sides of the abyss, four have almost entirely